Each year, the AKC Humane Fund pays tribute to five dedicated, hardworking dogs for making significant contributions to an individual or entire community. Since its creation in 2000, 100 ACE awards have been presented. Former ACE recipients have included a Poodle who helps his young autistic owner gain confidence each day and a Doberman Pinscher, who dedicates his life to Search & Rescue despite his own battle with Wobbler’s disease, among dozens of other extraordinary dogs.

“There are so many remarkable dogs to recognize with these awards,” said Doug Ljungren, President of the AKC Humane Fund. “Canines touch the lives and hearts of their owners and the world around them each day. We are proud to honor five of them each year with an ACE Award in recognition of their contributions.”

One award is given in each of the following five categories:

Uniformed Service K-9
Eligibility: Full-time working K-9s in the realms of city, county, state, or federal law enforcement; the military; firefighting; customs and border patrol; emergency services.

Exemplary Companion
Eligibility: Dogs without formal training or certification that have nonetheless distinguished themselves in some way and have made a meaningful contribution to their owners or communities.

Search and Rescue
Eligibility: Dogs certified to assist in wilderness and urban tracking, natural disasters, mass casualty events and locating missing people.

Therapy
Eligibility: Certified therapy dogs working in hospitals, schools, disaster sites, war zones, and wherever else the affection of a good dog can provide comfort.

Service
Eligibility: Service dogs who enrich the lives of physically or mentally disabled owners, including, but not limited to, guide dogs for the blind, seizure-alert dogs, hearing dogs, balance dogs.

**(Note: Nominees doing therapy work without certification are considered in the Exemplary Companion category.)

Honorees will receive an engraved sterling-silver medallion and an all-expenses-paid trip for dog and owner to Orlando, Florida, to be honored at the AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin in December. A donation of $1,000 will also be made in each recipient’s name to the pet-related charity of their choice.

Anyone, including the dog’s owner or handler, may submit a nomination form.
Submissions for the AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence for 2020 must include:
• A digital photograph of the dog. Files must be larger than 1MB in size and a minimum of 300 dpi. The photo should feature solely the nominated dog.
• A 500-word-or-less description of how the dog has demonstrated excellence.
• Dog’s call name, breed, age and sex.
• Owner’s/Nominator’s name(s), address and phone number. E-mail address if available.

Nominations will be accepted through July 31, 2020 and should be submitted here, with a photo sent to communications@akc.org.