Nominations Open for the 2025 AKC Humane Fund Awards Celebrating Heroic Dogs

Calling All Canine Heroes!



The AKC Humane Fund is thrilled to announce that the nominations for the 2025 AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE) are now open! This annual event showcases dedicated dogs whose contributions to our communities are nothing short of heroic. The nomination period runs until July 1, 2025, providing ample time for dog owners, handlers, and admirers to recognize these extraordinary animals.

This year, the ACE Awards have been enhanced with revamped categories that accommodate an even broader range of canine heroes. A new sixth category has been introduced to celebrate entire teams. This category shines a spotlight on collaborative efforts in Search and Rescue, Therapy Dogs, and Uniformed Service K-9s. Expanding upon the comprehensive categorization, the traditional Search and Rescue category has been split into two distinct subcategories: Disaster Response and Human Detection. This division ensures that those canines dedicated to providing relief during natural disasters and those trained to locate missing persons receive specialized recognition.

"Every year, dogs continue to show us the positive impact they make on our daily lives," stated Doug Ljungren, President and CEO of the AKC Humane Fund. "Expanding our search allows the AKC Humane Fund to bring even more awareness to the good deeds dogs do in our communities."

Since its establishment in 2000, the AKC Humane Fund has celebrated over 125 dogs through the ACE awards. Notable recipients in previous years included a Labrador Retriever renowned for detecting hidden electronic devices to curb human trafficking and a rescue dog who achieved remarkable success in AKC Agility competitions.

The distinguished AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence are proudly sponsored by Eukanuba™. Winners will be honored in late 2025, featured in a special televised event, and will receive a grant of $1,000, which they can donate to a pet-related charity of their choosing.

In 2025, nominated dogs can be recognized in the following categories:
  • - Uniformed Service K-9: For full-time working K-9s involved in law enforcement, military, firefighting, customs, and emergency services.
  • - Exemplary Companion: For dogs who, despite lacking formal training, have made a significant and meaningful impact in their owner's life or their communities.
  • - Search and Rescue: For dogs certified in either Disaster Response (natural disasters) or Human Detection (locating remains, missing persons).
  • - Therapy Dog: For certified therapy dogs providing emotional support in various environments such as hospitals and disaster sites.
  • - Service Dog: Assistance dogs that support individuals with physical or mental disabilities, including guide dogs for the blind and balance dogs.
  • - Teams: For certified teams engaged in search and rescue operations or therapy and K-9 police work.
(Note: Non-certified therapy dogs fall under the Exemplary Companion category.)

Anyone, including the dog's owner or handler, is eligible to submit nominations. Previous nominees may be resubmitted for consideration for this year's awards.

Submission Requirements: To nominate a dog for the AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence for 2025, the following must be included:
  • - One digital photograph of the dog (minimum size: 1MB; minimum resolution: 300 dpi; the photo should focus solely on the nominated dog).
  • - A description of up to 500 words detailing how the dog has exemplified excellence.
  • - The dog's call name, breed, age, and sex.
  • - The owner's or nominator's name, address, phone number, and email address.

Please note that posthumous nominations will not be accepted. Nominations will be open until July 1, 2025, and can be submitted via their official website.

To learn more about the ACE awards and to nominate a deserving canine hero, visit the AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence page.

The AKC Humane Fund actively promotes responsible pet ownership through outreach, education, and grants. It supports various programs like shelter assistance for domestic violence victims and resources for responsible dog ownership, with contributions being tax-deductible under IRS Section 501(c)(3).

Founded in 1884, the American Kennel Club (AKC) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to maintaining the largest registry of purebred dogs and overseeing dog sport activities in the U.S. The AKC champions responsible dog ownership, the health of canines, and the integrity of its registry while hosting over 26,000 competitions every year for both purebred and mixed-breed dogs across a multitude of events. To find out more about their mission and programs, visit www.akc.org.

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