Gunner, of the SD Gunner Fund, is in the running to become the nation’s top dog at the eighth annual American Humane Hero Dog Awards, which will be held in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018.

Gunner, a five-year-old Great Pyrenees, will be competing against 265 other courageous canines for the nation’s highest honor recognizing Mankind’s best friend. Voting for Gunner to be this year’s top American Hero Dog starts now. Local dog lovers and those across the country are invited to visit http://herodogawards.org/dog/sd-gunner/ and vote once per day for Gunner in the Service Dog category, sponsored by Modern Dog Magazine.

If Gunner is chosen the winner of the Service Dog category, he will take home $2,500 for the SD Gunner Fund. If Gunner is chosen as the overall winner, he will receive an additional $5,000 prize for the SD Gunner Fund. Each charity partner is dedicated to celebrating the role of working dogs in our lives, and like American Humane, celebrates the importance of the human-animal bond.

“My husband, Hamilton, served 20 years in the US Army before he was injured in Iraq and classified 100 percent disabled with total body nerve damage, a Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders,” said SD Gunner Fund President and Founder Britnee Kinard. “Gunner became the first mobility assistance TBI Service Dog to be approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Southeast Georgia Coastal Region. Since then, Gunner has given Hamilton and our family new life.”

SD Gunner assists Hamilton Kinard with balance, mobility strength, and wheelchair/walker assistance. He also helps with the Kinard’s eldest son with Autism by providing calming techniques and alerting the Kinards when their son “bolts” or “wanders off.”

 “Our best friends do so much to improve and even save our lives, and every dog owner knows about the extraordinary, unbreakable bond they share with their dog,” said Dr. Robin Ganzert, American Humane’s president and CEO. “The American Humane Hero Dog Awards are our way of celebrating the power of the human-animal bond, which has been a core part of our organization’s mission for 141 years.”

Key dates for the 2018 American Humane Hero Dog Awards contest include:

• 1st Round Voting: Now until April 25, 2018

• 2nd Round Voting: May 16, 2018 – July 11, 2018

• 3rd Round Voting: July 25, 2018 – September 5, 2018

• American Humane Hero Dog Awards gala event in Los Angeles – September 29, 2018

American Humane reaches more than 1 billion people each year and draws the support and participation of top celebrity dog lovers from all over the world, including Jay Leno, Betty White, and Whoopi Goldberg. Each charity partner involved in the American Humane Hero Dog Awards is dedicated to celebrating the role of working dogs in our lives, and like American Humane, celebrates the importance of the human-animal bond.