A deadline is quickly approaching for dog lovers everywhere! Voting in the first round of the 2021 American Humane Hero Dog Awards® is open for just one more week.
More than 400 dogs from 48 states were nominated this year for a shot at the title of America’s top dog. The Hero Dog Awards, now celebrating its 11th year, is a nationwide, yearlong search for the best of our best friends.
Heroic pups are nominated in one of seven categories: Military Dogs, Therapy Dogs, Law Enforcement/Detection Dogs, Service Dogs, Shelter Dogs, Search and Rescue Dogs and Guide/Hearing Dogs. During the past decade, communities have rallied around courageous canines to elevate local stories to the national stage. After millions of votes for more than 1,000 dogs, the program has reached billions of viewers and changed the way Americans talk about exceptional dogs.
Last year’s winner, a 4-pound Chihuahua born with a cleft palate, is proof that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Mackenzie needed to be tube-fed for the first year of her life before a surgery allowed her to eat and drink by herself. Now, she provides tender guidance to rescued baby animals at The Mia Foundation in Rochester, New York. Any one of the more than 400 dogs nominated this year could be the next Mackenzie.
The search for America’s top dog culminates in a nationally broadcast two-hour awards show on the Hallmark Channel. Throughout the years, celebrities have lent their support to the competition by hosting, judging, presenting and entertaining at the Hero Dog Awards. Notable names include Jay Leno, Billy Crystal, Betty White, Ariel Winter, Vivica A. Fox, James Denton, Beth Stern, Kristen Chenoweth, Naomi Judd and many, many more.
Dog lovers from across the country are encouraged to visit www.herodogawards.come and vote once per day for their favorite pup in each category until the first round ends on May 6th. After the first round wraps up, three semifinalists in each category will move on to compete in a pool of 21 dogs with a chance at becoming the 2021 Hero Dog.
Vote today to push your preferred pup to the top of the pack!
