For Immediate Release
PGU’s Awards for Excellence

February 8, 2007, Louisville, KY—
Every dog has his day and February 24 belongs to Chance Dumolt, a German Shepherd mix, age 13. Along with four others in the Louisville Metro area, Chance will be honored with an Award for Excellence from Pet Groups United (PGU). This is the seventh year that the non-profit alliance of animal welfare groups will recognize deserving animals and individuals within the local pet community. The awards ceremony will be held at Jefferson Mall’s JC Penney Court at 1 pm on Saturday, February 24th.

The Pet Adoptathon, sponsored by Pet Groups United, features healthy and lovable animals available for adoption from various local groups. Please join us at the J. C. Penney’s Court at Jefferson Mall on Saturday, February 24th from 11am until 4pm to meet these deserving pets.

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 is 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.

For more information about the Awards For Excellence or Pet Groups United,
Please contact:
Janet Robertson Warner
(502) 291-5771