The Central Oklahoma Humane Society is hosting a very unique event at 7pm on Saturday, September 27th. Their first every Pet Hero Award will honor three adopted pets in Oklahoma as part of the inaugural OK Humane Hero Awards, which will take place at 7 p.m. at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel, located at 1 Park Ave. in downtown Oklahoma City.
The purpose of this event is to highlight and celebrate those dogs who survived seemingly insurmountable odds and who have saved the life of a human or another animal or provided excellent service to the community.
Sue Della Maddalena, President and CEO for OK Humane remarked on the event:
“Many of us have pet heroes in our lives every day. This event will give us a chance to recognize adopted pets with incredible stories of valor, unconditional love and compassion.”
Nominations for the Pet Hero Award are already being accepted and will continue until August 6th. To be eligible, the pet must be a dog or a cat adopted from a rescue or shelter organization. Applicants will be asked to submit a photo of the heroic pet with a short description (200 words or less) explaining why the dog or cat deserves the award. Nominations must be submitted by noon on August 6 to be considered.
Nomination forms can be downloaded at www.okhumaneheroes.org or picked-up in person at the OK Humane Adoption Center located at 7500 N. Western Ave in Oklahoma City. The application is also available on the OK Humane Heroes application which can be downloaded in the Apple or Google Play stores. Applicants may also send a self-addressed, stamped #10 business envelope requesting a nomination form to: Central Oklahoma Humane Society, OK Humane Hero Awards, 9300 N. May Ave., Suite 400-281, Oklahoma City, OK 73120. Mailed nominations must be postmarked by August 6, 2014.
Dr. John Otto from Norman, Oklahoma, and Sister Pauline Quinn will also be honored at the event for their compassion and demonstrated commitment to ending pet homelessness in Oklahoma.
Even co-chair Sheryl Colton spoke about these two incredible people:
“Dr. Otto has been the driving force behind the implementation of the Mabel Bassett Guardian Angel’s Program, the first prison dog training program at a woman’s correctional facility in the state of Oklahoma. The program is designed to give female inmates the chance to give back to society by training OK Humane dogs with behavior problems that would otherwise be out of options. Sister Quinn advised Dr. Otto and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections throughout the entire process. Her expertise and guidance is ensuring that our dogs are being trained in the safest, most compassionate way possible.”
Quinn is founder of the nationally recognized Prison Pet Partnership Program, which teaches female offenders to train, groom and board dogs within the prison walls as part of their rehabilitation.
The OK Humane Hero Awards presented by the Petco Foundation will be open to the public. Ticket information will be posted online at www.okhumaneheroes.org on Aug. 3. The event will also be live streamed for those who can’t attend in person.
——————————
Central Oklahoma Humane Society (OK Humane) is a 501(c)3 non-profit that exists to enrich the communities it serves by promoting the well-being of animals. OK Humane’s immediate goal is to eliminate the needless euthanasia of adoptable pets at the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter through a multi-prong approach of local programs. These programs include adoption, spay/neuter, trap-neuter-return and humane education. More than 70,000 dogs and cats have been served since 2007. OK Humane receives no government funding, tax dollars, or funding from the Humane Society of the United States.
One example of such a hero:
