Nominated by the Chief Program Officer of Guide Dog Foundation, Mr. Berry and his dog Taxi are one of our wonderful 2021 Adopted Families.
UPDATE: We would like to thank our friends and colleagues who have donated and helped Mr. Berry and Taxi. With the help of our donors, we have been able to provide Mr. Berry with all of his daily meals and groceries throughout the year. We also covered the costs of Taxi’s pricey, life-saving surgery, and ensured that Taxi was returned home safely to Mr. Berry.
Born and raised in New York, Mr. Berry is a combat veteran who served honorably as part of the Radar Force. His military journey includes boot camp in Charleston, South Carolina in March of 1965, where he transferred to the Great Lakes for school for six months. Shortly after, he worked in the Combat Information Center (CIC) for six months until February of 1968, where he left and soon become permanently disabled.
About a year ago, Mr. Berry was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, affecting his central nervous system, causing tremors, and severely limiting his movement. Daily tasks such as traveling, cooking meals, and taking care of household chores have become strenuous and financially burdensome.
Mr. Berry is one of seven children and has two daughters of his own. He’s also a loving grandfather and the proud owner of his beloved guide dog, Taxi.
Taxi was trained and placed with Mr. Berry through America’s VetDogs, a service dog program created to provide enhanced mobility and renewed independence to veterans. Mr. Berry describes his 9-year-old black labrador as a very loving animal with a wonderful personality.
Taxi is his number one companion in life, and all of Mr. Berry’s energy surrounds caring for him. Though America’s VetDogs gifted the dog at no cost to Mr. Berry, expenses such as food, veterinary appointments and any medical bills are up to him. Taxi is scheduled for mandatory surgery on June 22, 2021.
CMM Cares is honored to give back to a veteran who made sacrifices to protect our country and looks forward to supporting him in 2021.
How CMM Cares is Helping
We have pledged to assist Charles Berry this year in taking care of costs associated with feeding, grooming, and medical checkups for Taxi.
Though Mr. Berry only has requests for Taxi, we want to support him, too, by providing any personal wishes he has to ease his hardships. CMM Cares has purchased Mr. Berry a laptop to give him easy access to telehealth services for his own medical care, as well as finance a meal delivery plan for him to eliminate the burden of cooking.
As we continue through the year, we will support Mr. Berry and Taxi by providing various essentials and alleviating financial obligations.
If you’re interested in helping us support Mr. Berry and Taxi with in-kind donations, financial support of our plans or if you know local businesses that may be interested in participating in our bringing our plans to life, please contact Victoria at vtringone@cmmcares.org.
