Archive for the ‘awards’ Category
A Shaggy Shout-Out!
Thanks to Carol Bryant and PetPR.com for offering Shaggy Dog Stories the coveted Blogger of the Week spot! It’s not every day that this happens — and I’m both grateful and humbled. Really — thanks! Wow!
The dog in the photo is Duncan, my second Beardie, who sent me on this journey in more ways than I can say. He’s been gone since 2002, and I still dream about him most nights. Miss you, Bud.
Celebrating Hero Dogs, Before It’s Too Late
Much was made in September about 9/11/2011, the tenth anniversary of the unspeakable 9/11 tragedy. In September there were ceremonies honoring both human and canine rescuers, helpers, and survivors — and those who didn’t survive.
Ten years is a long time — most of a lifetime — for a dog. Few of the dogs who were there in the aftermath of the attacks are still alive. Sometimes I think that dogs must find us confusing when we do things like honor them at public events, but since we’re humans, it matters to us that we do it — and while we can. It gives us comfort, and brings us together for at least a short while. It reaffirms the power of our love for animals, and how that love can bring great help and comfort in times of need.
Eli, Am/Can CH Celebre Elijah of Hillside
Eli, a Belgian Sheepdog (Groenendael), and his owner Sherry Hanley were there after the attacks, comforting survivors and first responders from a command center in Jersey City, NJ. He had only just received his therapy dog certification a short while before.
Ten years on, Eli is now 12. He has received numerous honors for his good works, including an AKC Lifetime Achievement award and a place in the Purina Hall of Fame. This year, he is being honored as a Therapy Dog Ambassador at the National Dog Show, sponsored by Purina© and the Kennel Club of Philadelphia. Eli competed at the very first National Dog Show in 2002.
The National Dog Show, presented by Purina, will be broadcast at starting at noontime on Thanksgiving Day (November 24) on NBC stations. There, you can see Eli being honored for his achievements. In the Belgian Sheepdog ring, two of Eli’s champion grand-puppies will be competing for Best of Breed.
If you want to go to the show, it actually takes place on Saturday and Sunday, November 19 and 20 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center.
More About Eli
Here is a copy of the press release that lists Eli’s public appearances in conjunction with the show:
PHILADELPHIA, PA (October 25, 2011) – Eli, one of the few living therapy dogs who comforted first responders and victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has been named Therapy Dog Ambassador for The National Dog Show Presented by Purina® and the Kennel Club of Philadelphia for 2011.
A retired show dog and therapy dog who competed at the first National Dog Show in 2002, Eli travels around the country with owner/handler Sherry Hanley appearing at dog shows and fundraising events benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project and other causes.
On behalf of the National Dog Show, Eli will visit the New York City Ronald McDonald House on Nov. 10, spending time with children with cancer and their families. The National Dog Show’s 2009-10 Therapy Dog ambassador, Rufus, visited the Ronald McDonald House in 2009 as part of its therapy dog program, which includes a partnership with the Angel on a Leash Foundation, connecting therapy dogs, like Eli, with pediatric cancer patients.
Eli will also appear at the Kennel Club of Philadelphia (KCP) cluster, meeting the public on Saturday, November 19 from 2-3 p.m. in the Purina Pro Plan exposition area at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks/Valley Forge, just west of Philadelphia. Eli will also appear on Sunday, November 20 from 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. He will be part of NBC’s online/broadcast coverage of the show, which airs nationally on November 24, Thanksgiving Day, from noon-2 p.m. following the Macy’s Parade. A total audience of some 20 million tunes into the show each year.
“It’s a great honor for Eli to come back to Philadelphia as Therapy Dog Ambassador for the KCP and The National Dog Show,” said Hanley. “Therapy Dog work is important and Eli is active in generating awareness about its value. Also, he loves to meet people and he is a ham, so we are looking forward to being involved.”
“Eli’s therapy work will never be forgotten and there is a whole generation of therapy dogs who walk now in his footsteps,” offered National Dog Show NBC expert analyst David Frei, the author of “Angel On A Leash,” a new book about therapy dogs. “Eli and Sherry Hanley will get a huge ovation Saturday when they are introduced in the stadium at The National Dog Show.”
Hanley, a Lehigh County (PA) Deputy sheriff from Allentown (PA), took Eli to the September 11 command post on the banks of the Hudson River just months after he was certified to help comfort rescue workers and victims of the tragedy. Fourteen months later Eli was a celebrated competitor at The National Dog Show both in the Belgian Sheepdog show ring and as a 9/11 hero.
He went on to win scores of titles and honors as an obedience dog and in herding competitions along with his show dog accomplishments, which include twice being ranked in the top 20 in his breed nationally. He is a member of the Purina Hall of Fame for his 9/11 therapy work and last October he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Kennel Club.
Now 12 years old, Eli is also a noted sire, the father of multiple champion and grand champion show dogs, including two who will be competing in the Belgian Sheepdog breed at The National Dog Show this year.
Visit Eli’s fan page on Facebook.
More About the Show
- NBC Sports has the main page for the Thanksgiving Day broadcast.
- The Kennel Club of Philadelphia Facebook page
- Show information at a glance
- Judging schedule. Bearded Collies are judged on Saturday at 9:45 AM in Ring 7.
Honoring the Canine Heroes of 9/11
Did you know that over 950 working dog/handler teams were involved in a number of tasks at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and other locations following the 9/11 attacks? It’s true! These teams came from the military, the government, and law enforcement — some were civilians. There were veterinarians and veterinary assistance teams at these locations, too, tending to the dogs working in such hazardous conditions.
On September 11 of this year, an organization called Finding One Another: Courage Beyond Measure (FOA) will sponsor a ceremony to honor all the working dog teams, veterinarians and veterinary medical assistance teams who served in response to the 9/11 attacks. The ceremony takes place at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. Ten years after the attacks, these dogs and their support teams are finally being fully recognized for their contributions.
About the Ceremony
At the recognition ceremony, the first Sirius Courage Award (named after the only dog to be killed at Ground Zero, a Yellow Lab who was an explosive detection dog) will be presented posthumously to Army Sgt. Zainah Caye Creamer, the first woman military working dog handler killed in combat in the history of the United States. She died in Afghanistan on January 12, 2011. The award will be presented by Sirius’s handler, Lt. David Lim of the Port Authority Police.
The details are available at the FOA website. The ceremony’s program is here.
In addition, representatives of working dog organizations and AKC breed clubs will sign The Convention on Cooperation Among American Working Dog Organizations. This historic document, first signed at the Doberman Pinscher Centennial in Topeka, Kansas in 2008, can be viewed here.
Participate in the Convention
FOA is seeking representatives from working dog organizations, or from AKC Parent Clubs for breeds used as working dogs in the USA to join in the signing, and/or to have the Convention ratified by those organizations. The details are here.
FOA’s Mission Statement
FOA’s mission statement reads (in part) as follows:
Finding One Another (FOA) seeks to support the needs of the SAR (Search and Rescue) field, the individual canines and their first responder human partners, by contributing to the establishment of standards of practice, care and research needed to safeguard all those engaged in this work. Funds generated by Finding One Another will provide financial assistance to:
- underwrite veterinary expenses for those SAR canines in need,
- increase the number of specially trained SAR focused veterinarians,
- expand targeted research benefitting working dogs and their human partners, and
- develop and implement programs to educate the public, both children and adults, to the work and on-going needs of the SAR community while elevating the human/animal bond and fostering a dialogue toward a more peaceful future.
How You Can Help
FOA offers tribute charms, designed by a search-and-rescue (SAR) handler, through its store. Wear them to honor the SAR teams who worked during the aftermath of 9/11, and to honor those teams working today. They currently offer a German Shepherd Dog charm, but other working breeds will be added soon.
To make a donation to FOA, visit their donation page: http://www.findingoneanother.org/donations
First, I’d Like to Thank the Academy
I’m not the kind of person who appears in anyone’s thoughts alongside the word “award.” They’re for other people, not for me. I don’t shill for them, I don’t get nominated for them, and I tend not to think much about them. I have won a few for some of my professional efforts, but those pieces were submitted on my behalf by someone else (my boss or my editor).
Imagine my surprise, then, when I received this from Sue over at the Talking Dogs Blog:
Hey, it might be a small thing, but it really made my day! Thanks, Sue!
Of course, the honor does come with some obligations. The first of these involves revealing Seven Things About Me, so here goes:
1. I acquired my first Beardie in 1990. I’ve had 9 of them in all, and Dinah is the first and only girl (so far).
2. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
3. If I won the lottery tomorrow, the first thing I’d do is enroll in art school.
4. I collect manuscript pages from books from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. A few could rightly be called “illuminated” since they have a few gold initial letters, but most of the ones in my collection are from music books (monastic choir hymnals). The largest page in my collection is about 2 feet x 3 feet. The smallest is about 3 inches by 4 inches.
5. The book that got me started in dog performance events was Champion Dog Prince Tom by Jean Fritz and Tom Clute. I have no idea how old I was when I first read it, but I wanted ever since that time to do obedience work with my dogs. Many years later, I found a copy at a yard sale and bought it for a quarter. I still have that book.
6. Other hobbies/manias of mine: the Boston Red Sox, college hockey (Go Maine Black Bears!), Cherry Garcia, classical music, knitting and needlework, meteor showers, Guinness, quilting, the ocean, buying pairs of sneakers (I am the Imelda Marcos of sneakers), bonfires, daffodils, sushi, craft and agricultural fairs, history, Comedy Central.
7. Stuff I can’t stand: wasps and hornets, country music, inattentive drivers, fried chicken, rude or pompous people, winter weather, Fox News, fanatics of any stripe, bogus charities, basketball, romance novels.
The Magnificent Seven
And now, for my next stunt, I’m supposed to nominate seven other blogs for the award. Here they are, in no particular order…
- My Brown Newfies
- Bounce Bark Run
- Caratunk Girl
- All Things Brittany
- Life with the Horde
- Masakado Shiba Inu/Too Naughty Shibas
- Sheltie Times
I wish I could give out more, but maybe the seven winners will nominate other folks whom I would have nominated. Congrats to the new winners and thanks again to Sue for thinking of me.
