COURAGEOUS CANINES
These dogs are all heros, competing for the 2018 American Humane Hero Dog Awards
Good dogs bring comfort and joy to the people they live with. Taking it to a much higher level are seven dogs competing for the 2018 American Humane Hero Dog Awards.
Finalists in the contest save lives in many ways — K-9 Flash worked with police in the state of Washington, Sgt. Fieldy with U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, and Ruby with search and rescue teams in New England. Roxy works every day as a service dog for an Iraq war veteran with post traumatic stress disorder, and Frances guides a young mother who is blind.
Two of the finalists were rescued from the South Korean dog meat market. Chi Chi is now a certified therapy dog. Willow’s “I am not meat” campaign raises money for “flight funds” to transport more dogs to safety.
You have until Sept. 5 to pick the dog dog in this amazing pack. Go to www.herodogawards.org to cast your vote.
The dogs and their owners have amazing back stories. Here are the dogs and their categories:
Law enforcement
A 9-month-old shelter puppy was just one day away from being euthanized when police officers in Washington state picked her in 2005 for a narcotics detection course. The German shepherd/Australian cattle dog graduated No. 1 in her training class.
For eight years, K-9 Flash worked with the Yakima Police Department, DEA and regional SWAT teams, making more than 2,200 narcotics-related finds and seizures. When Flash retired in 2013, she inspired her handler/partner to start Project K-9 Hero, which provides medical care and assistance to retired police dogs who do not receive funding from the agencies they served.
Now 13, Flash travels the nation, visiting schools where a book extolling her exploits is read to children.
Guide
Frances, 4, a yellow Labrador retriever, not only guides her blind partner, but also she visits children in grades K-2 to help “diminish stereotypes associated with blindness,” according to the nomination essay.
A young woman was 32 when she lost her eyesight in a rare complication after battling breast cancer. Six months later she found out she was pregnant. She asked for a guide dog, and in September 2016, Guiding Eyes for the Blind teamed her with Frances. The partners live in Staten Island, N.Y.
Frances and her partner, now a mother of two children, also do advocacy work for visually impaired parents.
Search and rescue
Early in her own life, Ruby was given a chance at life and ended up saving a life. The Australian shepherd/ Border collie mix was in a Rhode Island shelter six years ago where she was repeatedly adopted — and returned. Fast forward to October 2017 when a teenage boy went missing from his home. Multiple police officers searched unsuccessfully for 36 hours. Then they called the dogs in.
Ruby, a member of the Rhode Island State Police K-9 Division, found the boy. He was in grave medical condition but ultimately made a full recovery. The boy’s mother was a volunteer at the Rhode Island SPCA, and she had provided a foster home for Ruby every time she was returned.
Ruby, 7, will be featured in a soon-tobe-released film about her life.
Military
Sgt. Fieldy, 11, is a black Labrador retriever who retired from the Marine Corps in August 2014. He served three deployments in Afghanistan, where he detected improvised explosive devices that would have killed or injured soldiers.
In 2014 a Marine from his first deployment adopted Sgt. Fieldy and
brought him home for retirement. His many postservice honors includes the K-9 Medal of Courage, awarded to him on Capitol Hill in July 2016.
A disabled veteran from the Iraq War says he “probably wouldn’t be here today” without his pit bull partner at his side. After he was severely injured by an IED in 2006, Roxy was trained by Off Leash K9 Training in North Carolina to calm his anxiety and other symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
Roxy, 4, also visits with patients at Veterans Administration hospitals near her home in Canton, N.C.
Therapy
“Chi Chi is a quadruple amputee who is inspiring people all over the world,” according to the nominating essay that’s hard to top.
The golden retriever was found in a garbage bag in South Korea. Her legs had been bound, and the only way to save her life was to amputate all four paws and parts of her legs. She was adopted by a family in Phoenix, Ariz., and fitted with custom prosthetic paws and legs.
Chi Chi, now 4, inspires patients and students when she makes therapy dog visits. She is also a cancer survivor — Tumors were removed earlier this year
The Facebook page “Chi Chi Rescue Dog” has more than 45,000 followers. Sadly, an Aug. 21 post said Chi Chi is being treated for “inflammation of the brain.” It’s not known if the latest symptoms are related to the earlier bout with cancer.
Emerging hero
Willow was rescued from a South Korean slaughterhouse and arrived in the U.S. in September 2016 when he was thought to be 11 years old. He had matted hair, cut ears, an infected tongue and a mouthful of rotten teeth.
The 9 ½-pound poodle lives in Las Vegas, where he is the mascot for a new Animal Rights Club at a Nevada school. In person and on his “I Am Willow” Facebook page, he raises awareness about animal welfare issues. Willow is also working to earn official therapy dog certification.
The seven canine finalists will be flown to Los Angeles for the Hero Dog Awards gala on Sept. 29. Two hours of highlights will be broadcast later on the Hallmark Channel. Nearly a million votes were cast to pick the finalists from a field of 266 nominees. The awards are sponsored by the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation and Zoetis Petcare.