AKC Humane Fund Wants Your Canine Excellence Nominations
To celebrate the dogs who do extraordinary things in the service of humankind, the AKC Humane FundSM is seeking nominations for its AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE). Nominations are open now through July 1, 2022 and winners will be announced in late 2022. Winners will be highlighted in a made-for-TV special created by AKC productions.
Each year, the AKC Humane Fund honors five dedicated, hardworking dogs for making significant contributions to an individual or entire community. Since its creation in 2000, 110 ACE awards have been presented. Former ACE recipients have included a Golden Retriever who surfs to raise money for charities and a Dalmatian who doubles as a family pet and fire safety dog, among dozens of other incredible dogs.
“There are so many extraordinary dogs that better the lives of their human counterparts each day,” said Doug Ljungren, President of the AKC Humane Fund. “The annual ACE Awards give us the opportunity to share the stories of these canine heroes in recognition of their contributions.”
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.)
The 2022 AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence are sponsored by Eukanuba™. 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, a one-year supply of Eukanuba premium dog nutrition and an engraved sterling silver medallion.
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 2022 must include:
- A digital photograph of the 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.
Nominations will be accepted through July 1, 2022 and should be submitted here, with a photo sent to communications@akc.org.
For more information about the ACE awards or to nominate a dog, visit the AKC Humane Fund Awards For Canine Excellence (ACE) page.