EVERY DOG IS A HERO!

NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN FOR 2ND ANNUAL "AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION HERO DOG AWARDS(TM)"

Special Encore Presentation of 2011 Hero Dog Awards Airs on Hallmark Movie Chanel, December 23, 2011 at 8pm ET/PT

Studio City, CA - Following the spectacular reception of the inaugural "American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards" - taped before a live audience on October 1, 2011 - American Humane Association and Hallmark Channel are pleased to announce that nominations are officially open for the second annual installment of the program. Dog lovers are encouraged to visit www.herodogawards.org to nominate their heroic canines in any one of eight categories: Law Enforcement/Arson; Service; Therapy; Military; Guides; Search and Rescue; Hearing; and Emerging Hero Dogs, a category reserved for ordinary pets who do extraordinary things.

The broadcast of the 2012 Hero Dog Awards will air on Hallmark Channel next fall, and an encore presentation of the 2011 installment, hosted by Emmy(R) Award-winning Carson Kressley ("Carson Nation", "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"), will air on Hallmark Movie Channel on December 23 at 8pm ET/PT. Presented by Cesar(R) Canine Cuisine, the 2011 Hero Dog Awards was produced by Emmy(R) Award-winning MRB Productions, who will return to produce the second-annual presentation.

"Americans love a hero, and this year's inaugural Hero Dog Awards proved that's true for the four-legged kind as well," said Robin Ganzert, President and CEO of American Humane Association. "The overwhelming outpouring of support for the 2011 Hero Dog Awards instantly transformed this event from a great idea, into a campaign and program that was nationally embraced. Everyone has a hero dog in his or her life, and we want to hear about yours!"

"In a very short period of time, the Hero Dog Awards has established itself as the ultimate celebration of dogs and the remarkable things they do to make people's lives better. This annual initiative recognizes these tremendous animals through their stories of loyalty, bravery, commitment, and unconditional love," says Bill Abbott, CEO and President, Crown Media Family Networks. "As we open nominations for next year, we look forward to hearing and sharing more of these accounts, which are important reminders of how integral the human-dog partnership is to the enrichment of so many lives. I actively encourage dog lovers and everyone who has a four-legged hero to visit www.herodogawards.org and nominate your dog or share in the inspirational stories of others."

After all the nominations are in, each category will be narrowed down to one finalist through online voting. The eight category winners and their human companions will be flown to Los Angeles for the main event, the 2012 American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards, on October 6th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where the winning American Hero Dog will be announced.

Finalists for the 2011 Hero Dog Awards show included: Iraq war veteran dog WMD Bino C152; Sage, who had helped find survivors at the Pentagon after the 9/11 attacks; Ricochet, the only dog in the world who conducts surf therapy with special-needs children; Arson Detection Dog Sadie who has worked more than 40 fires; Service Dog Zurich, who has helped his ill owner in small and immeasurable ways; Hearing Dog Harley, who helps his human companion live a richer and safer life; Therapy Dog Stacey Mae, who helped collect more than 2,000 teddy bears for ill children; and the overall winning 2011 "American Hero Dog" Roselle, a guide dog who led her blind companion down 78 flights of stairs to safety during the World Trade Center terror attacks.

The Hero Dog Awards celebrate the powerful relationship between dogs and people and help to raise much-needed resources to support the vital work of American Humane Association - the nation's voice for the protection of children and animals. In 2011, American Humane Association's charity partners, which include The Pine Street Foundation, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Dogs for the Deaf, National Fire Dog Monument, U.S. War Dog Association, National Search Dog Alliance, Canine Companions for Independence, and Paws & Effect were granted a total of $50,000 as a result of the Hero Dog Awards. Cesar(R) Canine Cuisine made a $200,000 donation to American Humane Association, which the organization will put toward supporting the role of therapy dogs in helping Americans in need.

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About American Humane Association

Since 1877 American Humane Association has been at the forefront of virtually every major advance in protecting children, pets and farm animals from cruelty, abuse and neglect. Today we're also leading the way in understanding the human-animal bond and its role in therapy, medicine and society. American Humane Association reaches millions of people every day through groundbreaking research, education, training and services that span a wide network of organizations, agencies and businesses. You can help make a difference, too. Visit American Humane Association at www.americanhumane.org today.

About Hallmark Channel

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming available in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to a national audience of 87 million subscribers. The top tier program service is distributed through approximately 5,492 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel is the nation's leading network in quality family programming with an ambitious slate of original TV movies, lifestyle and general entertainment content, and is the home of "The Martha Stewart Show", which anchors the channel's daytime original programming block. Hallmark Channel's sibling network is Hallmark Movie Channel, also available in HD and SD, which focuses on the family-friendly movies with a mix of classic theatrical films, presentations from the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame library, original Hallmark Channel movies and special events.

About MRB Productions

MRB is an Emmy-winning production company specializing in producing content across all media platforms. MRB's recent projects include the acclaimed web series The Confession, staring Kiefer Sutherland, which acquired paramount success, leading to a feature deal with Image Entertainment. MRB's feature department is currently in post-production on a Stephen Gyllenhaal film Grassroots, slated to premiere later this year. On the television side, MRB produces the pre-taped segments, coordinates talent logistics and the VIP program for the past decade for ESPN's ESPY Awards. Most recently, MRB garnered two Emmy nominations for the 2010 NBA Draft Opening Sequence. Additional TV projects include two seasons of the mockumentary comedy show Free Radio on VH1 and Comedy Central. MRB's commercial repertoire includes collaborations with Leo Burnett, Periera O'Dell, Team Detroit, Goodby, Silverstein and Partners for clients such as Geico, Kellogg's, Ford, Sprint, Mattel, Corona, Miller Lite, Smirnoff, Sony, NBC, Wal-Mart, Hyundai and University of Phoenix.