AKC 2023 Awards for Canine Excellence TV Special coming to ESPN2 on December 10th
NEW YORK, NY, Dec. 6, 2023 — The American Kennel Club announced that its popular TV special, AKC HEROES: 2023 AWARDS FOR CANINE EXCELLENCE, will premiere on Sunday, December 10th at 10:30 pm ET on ESPN2. The show features the fantastic stories of this year’s AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE) winners. The annual awards celebrate the significant accomplishments of loyal, hard-working dogs that improve the lives of their owners or communities.
This one-hour special, hosted by Sportscaster Carolyn Manno, takes a deep dive into the stories of five remarkable dogs and why they were selected as this year’s honorees in their respective categories.
“I look forward to the AKC ACE Awards Show so much. It provides an opportunity to celebrate incredible dogs who work so hard to enrich the lives of those around them every day,” says Manno. “The show is also a spotlight for their human partners, who sacrifice so much of their time to make their communities better places to live. Countless dogs deserve recognition across the country for the many ways they positively impact us. I feel so fortunate to be able to share the stories of a select few with our audience each year.”
To celebrate the dogs who do extraordinary things in the service of humankind, each year, the AKC Humane Fund honors five dedicated, hardworking dogs for making significant contributions to an individual or entire community. Honorees are selected from a pool of over 600 nominations. The five award categories are:
- Uniformed Service K-9 – Full-time working K-9s in city, county, state, or federal law enforcement; the military; firefighting; customs and border patrol; and emergency services.
- Exemplary Companion – 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 – Dogs certified to assist in wilderness and urban tracking, natural disasters, mass casualty events, and locating missing people.
- Therapy – Certified therapy dogs work in hospitals, schools, disaster sites, war zones, and wherever else the affection of a good dog can provide comfort.
- Service – 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, and balance dogs.
“Every year, dogs continue to show us how important they are in our lives, and these five dogs are the perfect example,” said Gina DiNardo, AKC Executive Secretary. “Their impact can be felt throughout their communities, and we are proud to share their stories.”
A donation to a pet-related charity of their choice is made for the ACE award winner in each category. YuMOVE™, the official joint sponsor of the AKC, and EUKANUBA™ premium dog nutrition proudly sponsor the 2023 AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence.
Since its creation in 2000, 115 ACE awards have been presented. Former ACE recipients have included notable honorees like a Flat-Coated Retriever who was able to locate a missing elderly woman in less than fifteen minutes, a Boykin Spaniel who helps children alleviate the stress of court proceedings, and a Belgian Malinois sniffed out a 22-year-old murder suspect hiding in a dumpster.
For a nibble at what type of stories you’ll see on the 2023 ACE Awards TV special, here is a look back at the 2019 AKC Humane Fund Award for Canine Excellence, Summer, a Labrador Retriever, and her work with handler, Sgt. Micah Jones
The AKC HEROES: 2023 AWARDS FOR CANINE EXCELLENCE airs at 10:30 pm on ESPN2 and the ESPN app on Sunday, December 10th.
The special will re-air on Sunday, December 17th at 8:00 pm ET and Sunday, December 31st at 11:00 pm ET.
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