California bowler gives back to veterans

Wendy Clem
USBC Communications
May 26, 2012

Bowl.com 

RENO, Nev. - Mary Cortani of Gilroy, Calif., missed bowling in what would have been her seventh consecutive United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships this year, but it's because she was busy being filmed by a television crew as part of CNN's Heroes, a program that honors extraordinary people.

Cortani, 55, is founder and executive director of the non-profit Operation Freedoms Paws, an organization that unites rescued shelter dogs with veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other physical or emotional problems.

Veterans returning from combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan often isolate themselves or have difficulty returning to normal day-to-day life. Dogs help alleviate that problem and integrate humans into society faster, experts say. Read more here…