Border Terrier honored ... AKC top five in 2009.

"AKC is honored to recognize these five exemplary dogs with the AKC Humane Fund Award for Canine Excellence. The heartwarming stories of each nominee made it a difficult task to choose just one winner in each category," said Ronald N. Rella, AKC Director of Project Administration and member of the judging panel. "Each dog’s devotion to improving the lives of others and the impact they make in their community is an inspiration to dog lovers everywhere."

Therapy Dog: "Elliot" owned by Miriam Couto of Woodland, WA
Elliot is a 7-year-old Border Terrier, who is a registered therapy dog with the Delta Society. He has logged more than 1,000 hours with patients, most of them children. Elliot assists in their care at his local children’s hospital, providing comfort and helping to calm patients so doctors can better provide help. Elliot has been known to assist doctors in performing their life-saving duties by comforting children and showing them that procedures are not as scary as they think. In one case, a young girl undergoing treatment for cancer was extremely stressed, making it dangerous for doctors to perform a necessary procedure. Every time they tried to place an oxygen mask on her, she cried, increasing her stress to dangerous levels. Elliot’s owner, Miriam, placed a paper cup to mimic the oxygen mask over Elliot’s muzzle. This calmed the girl so that doctors could proceed with the lifesaving procedure. Miriam, describes Elliot as enthusiastic about his job and states in her nomination, "Elliot is a once in a lifetime hero in my life and the lives of many suffering children and their families."

Exemplary Companion Dog: Electra owned by Mandy Willis of Valrico, Fla.: Electra, an 8-year-old Standard Poodle, has been 7-year-old Mandy Willis constant companion since her cancer diagnosis and subsequent chemotherapy treatments began in February 2008. Electra lived the life of a top show champion until her owners found out about her dream to own a Poodle. Electra and Willis immediately bonded and have been inseparable ever since.

Search and Rescue Dog: Sage owned by Diane Whetsel of Hagerman, N.M.: Sage is a 10 year old Border Collie who is owned, trained and loved by Diane Whetsel, a K-9 officer for the New Mexico Corrections Department. Sage served at the Pentagon in the aftermath of 9/11, went to Aruba in 2005 to search for the missing teen, Natalee Holloway, and in 2007 Sage and Whetsel travelled to Iraq and spent six months searching for missing soldiers.

Law Enforcement Dog: Robin owned by Mary and  Joseph MacQueen of Frewsburg, N.Y.: Robin, a 6-year-old Golden Retriever, and his owner Mary MacQueen work for the Salamanca Police Department, the Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office and assist with searches for the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force in Western New York State. In 2009 alone, Robin has been responsible for getting about half a million dollars worth of dangerous narcotics off the streets.

Service Dog: Benton owned by Margo Dietrich of Norcross, Ga: Benton is a 6-year-old Labrador Retriever trained by Canine Companions for Independence as an assistance dog for his owner Margo Dietrich. Some of the daily tasks Benton assists Dietrich with include retrieving dropped items, dressing, and transferring her to and from a wheelchair.

Top 5 AKC ACE Awards congrats!