Meet the ASPCA's 2011 Humane Heroes

November 18, 2011

Seven outstanding animals and people—including a badly burned cat who refused to abandon her kittens and a six-year-old boy who raised more than $28,000 for his local animal shelter—were honored at this year’s ASPCA Humane Awards Luncheon.

The annual awards ceremony recognizes heroic animals and individuals who have made a significant impact on the lives of animals during the past year. This year’s event was held on Thursday, November 17, at the Pierre Hotel in New York City.

A San Diego, California-based Golden Retriever named Ricochet was selected as Dog of the Year for her work as a “surfice” dog for disabled surfers. She rides the waves with adults and kids alike and has helped raise $125,000 for more than 150 human and animal causes.

Cat of the Year honors went to Mittens, who was trapped in a milk crate and set on fire by two Baltimore teenagers in 2009. Mittens managed to escape the crate, extinguish the fire and return to nurse her newborn kittens. Her plight eventually helped inspire the pursuit of stricter animal cruelty laws in the state of Maryland.

Among the human attendees at this year’s Humane Awards was Donna Foley, a longtime ASPCA supporter and cat-mom from St. Louis, Missouri. Donna is the winner of our Facebook-based sweepstakes, We “Like” You, Too! She was randomly selected to win our grand prize and received a trip to New York City, tickets to the Luncheon and a $10,000 grant to award to the animal shelter of her choice.

Visit www.aspca.org/hal to read about all seven outstanding Humane Award winners. Congratulations to all!