K9 Magazine’s own cover star – Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan and his wife, Ilusion, announced a $250,000 gift to North Shore Animal League America to launch the Mutt-i-grees(TM) humane education curriculum last night at the red carpet “An Evening with Cesar Millan” event at Tribeca Cinemas in New York. The gift is the largest gift to date by the Cesar and Ilusion Millan Foundation.

The curriculum, a collaboration with Yale University’s School of the 21st Century, is an innovative approach to humane education embracing learning within the context of the emerging area of emotional intelligence and social skills.

Cesar Millan

According to Cesar, “This unique program shows children how to treat animals while teaching important social and emotional skills – skills such as empathy, collaboration, and caring – so kids will grow up and become pack leaders in the animal world as well as the human world.” The Mutt-i-grees(TM) curriculum is being piloted in pre-kindergarten through the third grade now and the full program will launch in 2010. Ilusion Millan adds, “We are excited to be partnering with North Shore Animal League America and Yale University’s School of the 21st Century because as a former teacher and parent, I believe it is important to reach our children with the message of humane education at a young age. Children are like sponges: they are constantly learning from their experiences. If something truly touches the heart and soul of a child, it stays with him or her into adulthood.”

National Geographic Channel, Harmony Publishing, MPH Entertainment, IMG Worldwide, Petplan Insurance, and Arf Dog joined Cesar and Ilusion at the Tribeca Cinemas to generate public and media attention on the plight of homeless dogs and cats awaiting adoption in shelters and to enhance the status and desirability of these animals, most of which are mixed breed “Mutt-i-grees.”

The event also included the world premiere of the sixth season of Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, which starts tonight on the National Geographic Channel. For more information about the Cesar and Ilusion Millan Foundation visit www.millanfoundation.org

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