Congratulations to Elle, 2013 winner of the Hero Dog Awards!

Elle, 2013 winner of the
Hero Dog Awards.
Image from huffingtonpost.com

The American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards were created in 2010 and celebrates the bond between dogs and people. Dogs are nominated in eight categories, each category has one finalist, and when it all is over, one dog wins the award along with money for a charity.

This year's winner is Elle, a five year old Pit Bull who works as therapy dog. She, amongst other things, teaches children about dog safety, and helps teach them to read.

Children and dogs often establish a bond difficult to reach with other humans. A dog doesn't judge if a child stumbles on a word or pronounces it wrong. Reading aloud to a dog can be a great help with building confidence and get over the first bumps. Elle takes part in a middle school program, where kids take turn reading to her for twenty minutes at a time.

~ Maria Sadowski ~