Piperno (Royal Canin Italia): “Dogs and cats improve the world for the less fortunate”

“Thanks to common experiences, a couple of years ago we met Mario di Frida’s Friends, who told us about his passion, his vision and his project. As Royal Canin, both global and Italy, we have a mission to make the world better for our dogs and cats, but at the same time we know that dogs and cats can make the world better for the less fortunate.” She said it Valentina Piperno, communication manager of Royal Canin Italiaillustrating the phases through which the project which saw the Royal Canin Foundation collaborate with Frida’s Friends Onlus and thanks to which over a thousand pediatric patients have been able to benefit from pet therapy, in this case in the company of cats. “With Mario we studied the positive role that cats can have in pet therapy and we therefore began to study and understand what project we could carry out together to bring a smile, a cuddle and a positive emotion to the less fortunate – explains Piperno – We have started atNiguarda hospital in Milanwhere therapy sessions with cats are held every Tuesday, and then also arrive at Fatebenefratelli of Milan on Thursday morning.” “Support for the Frida’s Friends foundation is given through the Royal Canin Foundation, an entity separate from the commercial entities and therefore from the company branches in the various countries. The Foundation aims to finance projects that aim to bring a better world for the less fortunate, thanks to the positive role that dogs and cats can have – he continues – As happens every year, we members, that is, we employees of Royal Canin, can nominate projects that we believe can achieve the aim of bringing benefits to social reality, to children and to the less fortunate. The projects are evaluated by a scientific board which also ensures the well-being of the dogs and cats involved in this type of project. Subsequently there is a period in which we members from all over the world can vote on the projects we deem most worthy, so that they can then be financed starting from the following year”. “Since the end of 2020, when the Foundation was created, we have already financed 15 projects in twelve countries and the intent is to continue to finance many more. In the next years. The project with Frida’s Friends is the first project in Italy financed by the Royal Canin Foundation, and it is one of the very first projects in the world in which cats are used for these Cat Therapy sessions”, he concludes.