LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentuckiana's own Ethan, who was once left dying outside the Kentucky Humane Society, has been nominated for a national award. If he wins, he'll be flown to Florida for an award ceremony.
The American Humane Hero Dog Awards is a nonprofit organization who strives to advance society’s understanding of the powerful relationship between dogs and people.
The national award recognizes dogs in several categories, including, "Law Enforcement Dogs", "Therapy Dogs" and "Guide/Hearing Dogs".
Ethan was originally nominated in the "Shelter Dogs" category and won. Now he's competing against the other winners of their categories for the title: 2022 American Hero Dog.
When Ethan was first abandoned outside of KHS in 2021, officials weren't sure if he'd even survive the first night. He was over 40 pounds lighter than he should've been, every bone can be seen from his dehydrated skin, he had lost a tremendous amount of muscle and he was also filthy from feces and urine.
"While we don’t know how Ethan got to this point, based on his condition, we surmise he may have been locked in a crate without food for weeks," KHS wrote on their website. "However he got to this condition, we are doing everything we can to save him."
On Feb. 4 he took his first steps since before he arrived. Feb. 11, KHS announced Ethan weighed 65 pounds, gaining 27 pounds in just 12 days. The following night, Ethan spent his first night at his foster dad's, Jeff's, house in Jeffersonville, Ind.
On March 10, Jeff and his family officially adopted Ethan. The KHS volunteers and staff threw together an adoption ceremony to celebrate.
Since his adoption, Ethan has gotten a ton of recognition and awards, including:
- May 2021, he was given the job "Chief Tasting Officer" for Busch Beer.
- Sept. 2021 he was inducted into the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association Animal Hall of Fame.
- June 2022 he won the Muhammad Ali Center's C.H.A.M.P. award.
- August 2022 he won the "2022 Shelter Hero Dog" award.
You have until Sept. 13 to vote for Ethan to be the American Hero Dog.
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