Forever Homes and Heroes
By Janet R. Warner
Staff, www.louisvillepetpals.com

Feb. 24, 2007 -

Shopping at the mall took on a new twist on a bone-chilling February day at Jefferson Mall during the Pet Groups United Adoptathon and Awards for Excellence. Volunteers from Shamrock Foundation, The Animal Care Society (ACS), The Animal Protection Association, Greyhounds of Shamrock, Humane Society of Oldham Co. and Louisville Metro Animal Services (LMAS) were busy all day introducing dogs and cats to folks with prospective forever homes.

“ACS was swamped the next day with people wanting to adopt our 2 Collie mix puppies. Too bad we didn't have 10 of them because they all would have been adopted!   I believe there were four adoptions that were directly credited to the adoptathon,” said Sherry McKinney of Animal Care Society. ACS administrator, Bunny Zeller worked through the next Monday and took applications home with her that evening to confirm references.

At one o’clock in the afternoon, PGU host Barry Bernson of Fox 41 News began the Seventh Annual Awards for Excellence. Each year PGU publicly acknowledges outstanding members of the Louisville and Southern Indiana community. An Animal Professional, an Animal Hero, a member of the Media, an outstanding Volunteer and a youth worker were honored this year for their contributions.

The Honorees:
Chance is a hero because he saved his owner, Margaret Dumolt’s life one icy morning. Dumolt and Chance went to retrieve the morning paper. While at their rural mailbox in Elizabethtown, KY, Dumolt slipped on a patch of ice. She went down hard, breaking bones in her foot and losing consciousness. The dog revived her by licking her face and when she awoke, she grabbed his fur and he dragged her back to her house! Chance is the PGU’s 2007 recipient for the Animal Hero of the Year Award for Excellence.

Each year PGU honors a volunteer with the Trooper Award. This year’s recipient Beth Snider works tirelessly with Alley Cat Advocates in all phases of their trap-neuter-release program for feral cats. Snider does the “dirty” work in a throw away culture where these felines are cast off to survive and reproduce in both urban and rural environments. Employed full time, Snider feeds 2 cat colonies before work, traps the animals and volunteers at the organization’s monthly Big Fix (as well as donating spay costs for one cat each time) and nurses special needs cats back to health in her home.

PGU’s Media Award for Excellence usually goes to someone who talks for a living. Brad Nelson of Louisville Pet Pals.com usually lets technology speak for him. Nelson is being recognized by PGU as the technical genius behind the enormously popular pet related website. Nelson spends untold hours each week on the site, with dedication, commitment and humor. He is responsive to the needs of the members and is always seeking a way: be it technical or diplomatic, to make the whole site work better to more efficiently serve the growing community, the pet lovers of Louisville.

Dedication in any field is appreciated but bridging the world of veterinary medicine and the comprehension of often frightened and concerned pet owners, takes a special touch. Dr. Mark Nall of Elizabethtown is so successful at this he was honored with PGU’s Animal Professional Award for Excellence.

Because the future of animal welfare rests in the hands of our youth, PGU each year rewards a deserving youth who is in some way positively contributing to the animal world. Such a kid is Emily Rohr of Jeffersonville, IN the PGU recipient of the Youth Award for Excellence. At the tender age of 11, Rohr is an experienced trainer of service dogs for the handicapped. Rohr has already, with patience and dedication, given the gift of a dog that can open doors and opportunities to one who may not other wise been able. She is currently in an 18 month training period with her second dog. The future looks very good for pets and people with Emily Rohr involved.