CALLING ALL CANINE HEROES! NOMINATIONS OPEN NOW FOR AKC HUMANE FUND AWARDS FOR CANINE EXCELLENCE!

NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The AKC Humane Fund^SM is seeking your nominations for its AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE). Nominations are open now through July 1, 2024. Winners will be announced in late 2024 and will be highlighted in a made-for-tv special.

Each year, the AKC Humane Fund, a not-for-profit organization, honors five dedicated, hardworking dogs for making significant contributions to an individual or entire community. Since its creation in 2000, 120 ACE awards have been presented. Last year's ACE recipients included a Labrador Retriever who is trained to sniff out hidden electronic devices to prove sex offenders and traffickers guilty and a Border Collie who's a fan favorite on and off the football field at New Mexico State University.

"There are so many extraordinary dogs that better our lives," said Doug Ljungren, President of the AKC Humane Fund. "The annual ACE Awards gives us the opportunity to acknowledge these canine heroes and share their inspiring stories."

The AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence are proudly sponsored by Eukanubatm and YuMOVE®.

One award is given in each of the following five categories:

Uniformed Service K-9
Eligibility: Full-time working K-9s in the realms of city, county, state, or federal law enforcement; the military; firefighting; customs and border patrol; emergency services.

Exemplary Companion
Eligibility: Dogs without formal training or certification that have nonetheless distinguished themselves in some way and have made a meaningful contribution to their owners or communities.

Search and Rescue
Eligibility: Dogs certified to assist in wilderness and urban tracking, natural disasters, mass casualty events and locating missing people.

Therapy
Eligibility: Certified therapy dogs working in hospitals, schools, disaster sites, war zones, and wherever else the affection of a good dog can provide comfort.

Service
Eligibility: Service dogs who enrich the lives of physically or mentally disabled owners, including, but not limited to, guide dogs for the blind, seizure-alert dogs, hearing dogs, balance dogs.

**(Note: Nominees doing therapy work without certification are considered in the Exemplary Companion category.)

Honorees of the AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE) will receive $1,000 to be awarded to a pet-related charity of their choice.

Anyone, including the dog's owner or handler, may submit a nomination. Past nominations are eligible for resubmission for these awards.

Submissions for the AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence for 2024 must include:

• A digital photograph of dog. Files must be larger than 1MB in size and a minimum of 300 dpi. The photo should feature solely the nominated dog.
• A 500-word-or-less description of how the dog has demonstrated excellence.
• Dog's call name, breed, age and sex.
• Owner's/Nominator's name(s), address, phone number and e-mail address.

PLEASE NOTE: We do not accept posthumous nominations.

Nominations will be accepted through July 1, 2024 and should be submitted here with a photo sent to [email protected].

For more information about the ACE awards or to nominate a dog, visit the AKC Humane Fund Awards For Canine Excellence (ACE) page.

The AKC Humane Fund^SM promotes responsible pet ownership through education, outreach and grant-making. Through its programs, the AKC Humane Fund supports Parent Club Rescue activities; assists shelters for domestic abuse victims that permit pets and provides resources for responsible dog ownership education. Contributions to the AKC Humane Fund are fully tax deductible as allowed by law under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code.

About the American Kennel Club

Founded in 1884, the American Kennel Club is a not-for-profit organization which maintains the largest registry of purebred dogs in the world and oversees the sport of purebred dogs in the United States. The AKC is dedicated to upholding the integrity of its registry, promoting the sport of purebred dogs and breeding for type and function. Along with its more than 5,000 licensed and member clubs and its affiliated organizations, the AKC advocates for the purebred dog as a family companion, advances canine health and well-being, works to protect the rights of all dog owners and promotes responsible dog ownership. More than 26,000 competitions for AKC-registered purebred and mixed breed dogs are held under AKC rules and regulations each year including conformation, agility, obedience, rally, tracking, herding, lure coursing, coonhound events, hunt tests, field and earthdog tests.

Affiliate AKC organizations include the AKC Humane Fund, AKC Canine Health Foundation, AKC Reunite, the AKC Museum of the Dog, and the AKC Purebred Preservation Bank. For more information, visit www.akc.org.

SOURCE AKC Humane Fund