Awards Program

    Award Categories

    Five honors recognizing the full spectrum of K-9 rescue heroism — from working K-9 officers to the neighbor who pulled a dog from a burning house.

    K-9 OfficersCivilian RescuersSearch & Rescue TeamsDisaster RespondersCommunity Heroes

    K-9 Officers

    Working dogs in service of public safety.

    Police, military, customs, and corrections K-9s whose actions in the line of duty save lives, recover survivors, prevent crimes, or protect their handlers and communities.

    Who Qualifies

    • ✓Active or retired law enforcement K-9s
    • ✓Military Working Dogs (MWDs) and veterans
    • ✓Federal agency K-9s (ATF, DEA, CBP, TSA, Secret Service)
    • ✓Corrections and patrol K-9s with documented life-saving acts

    Example Stories

    Patrol K-9 Apprehends Armed Suspect

    "A police K-9 deploys to track a fleeing armed suspect through dense terrain at night, locating and holding the subject until officers arrive — preventing a foot pursuit that could have ended in gunfire."

    Military Working Dog Saves Convoy

    "An MWD alerts on a roadside IED moments before vehicles pass, allowing the team to halt and call EOD — the dog's training prevents catastrophic injury or death."

    Nominate in this category

    Civilian Rescuers

    Ordinary people, extraordinary courage.

    Members of the public who place themselves in harm's way to rescue a dog in danger — strangers, neighbors, passersby. The accidental hero who happened to be there.

    Who Qualifies

    • ✓Anyone who rescued a dog from fire, water, ice, traffic, or violence
    • ✓Bystanders who intervened in animal abuse or neglect
    • ✓Good Samaritans who reunited a lost or injured dog with its family
    • ✓Witnesses who acted at personal risk or sacrifice

    Example Stories

    Stranger Wades Into Floodwater

    "During hurricane evacuation a passerby sees a dog stranded on a porch as water rises. They wade chest-deep through floodwater to carry the dog to higher ground — owners later reunited."

    Neighbor Pulls Dog From House Fire

    "A neighbor hears barking from a smoking home, breaks a window, and brings two dogs out before the fire department arrives. The family is away — the dogs would not have survived."

    Nominate in this category

    Search & Rescue Teams

    Trained K-9 teams that find the lost.

    Certified search-and-rescue dog/handler teams who locate missing persons in wilderness, urban, water, or disaster environments — and the all-volunteer organizations that field them.

    Who Qualifies

    • ✓FEMA-certified urban search-and-rescue (USAR) K-9 teams
    • ✓Wilderness, area, and trailing search teams
    • ✓Water search and cadaver recovery teams
    • ✓Volunteer K-9 SAR units called out by emergency management

    Example Stories

    Wilderness Team Finds Missing Hiker

    "An air-scent K-9 team deploys overnight in mountainous terrain, locating a hypothermic hiker hours before predicted survival window — credited with saving the hiker's life."

    USAR K-9 Locates Survivor in Rubble

    "Following a structural collapse, a FEMA-certified team alerts on a void space; rescuers extract a trapped survivor after 22 hours."

    Nominate in this category

    Disaster Responders

    First in when storms hit.

    Professional and volunteer responders who mobilize during hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other large-scale events to rescue, shelter, and reunite displaced animals.

    Who Qualifies

    • ✓Emergency management and SAR personnel deployed to disasters
    • ✓Animal-control officers operating in disaster zones
    • ✓Veterinary teams providing emergency field care
    • ✓Volunteer responders deploying with recognized rescue organizations

    Example Stories

    Hurricane Field Team

    "A response team deploys boats into a flooded neighborhood post-landfall, evacuating dozens of dogs and cats abandoned during evacuation orders, and operating a temporary shelter for 14 days."

    Wildfire Reunification Lead

    "A coordinator sets up an evacuation-zone reunification database, matching displaced pets with returning families — hundreds reunited in the first week."

    Nominate in this category

    Community Heroes

    Sustained service that builds the field.

    Long-term contributors whose quiet, ongoing work makes K-9 rescue possible — foster families, transport drivers, drone pilots, fundraisers, educators, and the rescue-organization founders who keep it all running.

    Who Qualifies

    • ✓Long-serving foster homes and transport volunteers
    • ✓Drone pilots, social-media organizers, and lost-pet network operators
    • ✓Rescue-organization founders and shelter directors
    • ✓Educators teaching disaster pet preparedness in schools and communities

    Example Stories

    Decade-Long Foster Family

    "A family has fostered 200+ medical-needs dogs over ten years, providing recovery space for animals shelters cannot keep alive — every dog adopted out."

    Volunteer Drone Pilot

    "An FAA Part 107 pilot has flown 80+ free searches for lost dogs in their region, locating dozens, and now mentors new pilots joining programs like Drones4Dogs."

    Nominate in this category

    Learn more about the program's history and process on our Hero Awards Program page, or read featured stories on the Heroes page.

    Ready to Nominate?

    Tell us the story — the dog, the person, what happened, and why it matters. Nominations are open year-round.

    SUBMIT A HEROSUPPORT THE AWARDS