Photo: Courtesy Jeff Callaway
Ethan the rescue dogis still inspiring dog lovers and fans across the country.
After hundreds of nominations and more than one million votes from the public — plus the deliberations of a VIP panel of dog experts and celebrity animal lovers — Ethan was named the winner of the2022 American Humane Hero Dog Awards.
“The Hero Dog Awards were created to honor some of the world’s most extraordinary heroes,” Dr. Robin Ganzert,president and CEO of American Humane, said about the annual competition.
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“I am overjoyed to congratulate Ethan on winning this year’s top title,” she continued. “We hope his story will encourage people to value our animal friends and recognize the healing power of the human-animal bond.”
The Hero Dog Awards is a nationwide competition that searches for and recognizes America’s most remarkable canines, according to a press release from American Humane.
Nearly 400 dogs were nominated this year for one of the awards' seven categories —which celebrate military, therapy, service, law enforcement, shelter, search and rescue, and guide dogs. Before winning the competition’s top title, Ethan won the 2022 Shelter Hero Dog award.
The canine first made headlines in Jan. 2021when rescuers found Ethan dumped in the parking lot of the Kentucky Humane Society (KHS).The dog was too weak to lift his head, unable to walk, and close to 50 pounds underweight.
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With the help of KHS and his growing online fanbase, Ethanrecovered from this rough start to life, regained the ability to walk, andhit his goal weightover several months. Now, he is happily living with a KHS staff member and his new pet siblings.
source: people.com
