(Video by Mike Beegle)
By Brie Strohmeyer
Special Correspondent
Mix well-dressed celebrities, a little dog hair and some heart-warming tales of mans best friend and you have the American Humane Association’s second annual Hero Dog Awards presented by the Hallmark Channel.
A slightly different breed of Hollywood award shows, the Hero Dog Awards recognize dogs for their loyalty, bravery and enrichment of our lives. This year’s distinguished pack of honorees includes canines in the areas of service, military, therapy, law enforcement and search and rescue. Thousands of deserving dogs were submitted for consideration and nearly 3 million online votes were cast to narrow the field down to eight finalist. A panel of celebrity judges including Whoopi Goldberg, Miranda Lambert, Megyn Price and dog expert Victoria Stillwell selected Gabe, a military dog with 200 combat missions under his collar, as this year’s overall Hero Dog. Legendary actor, animal lover and activist Betty White received special recognition during the show.
Prior to the show celebrities walked the red carpet and chatted with ScottFeinberg.com about why it was important for them to be a part of the festivities. Many of the celebs on hand, like NCIS star Pauley Perrette, devote their time to animal causes throughout the year and found the night another great way to pay homage to our four legged friends. Animal love and appreciation was definitely the resounding message of the night, but it didn’t just stop with the dog honorees; celebs like Jewel, Michael Vartan and Bailee Madison couldn’t help but take the time to gush about their own dogs. Show host Kristin Chenoweth took puppy love one-step further: her Maltese, Maddie, joined her on the stroll down the carpet, the two of them dressed to the nines.
If you love dogs you won’t want to miss the second annual Hero Dog Awards, airing Thursday, Nov. 8th on the Hallmark channel. The awards show caps off three days of dog centric entertainment airing on the network Nov. 6th-8th. Check your local listings for channels and times.