AKC Humane Fund opens nominations for the 2026 ACE Awards, honoring heroic dogs in service, therapy, search and rescue, and community impact.
The Weekly Brief
The best of SHOWSIGHT editorials, weekly wins, and breeder commentary — delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning.
New York, N.Y. – Know a dog or group of dogs that has made a difference in their community? The AKC Humane FundSM is thrilled to announce that nominations for its 2026 AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE) are open NOW!
Building on the success from last year’s awards, the 2026 ACE Awards will again include expanded categories such as Teams, Search & Rescue – Disaster Response and Search & Rescue – Human Detection.
“The AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence shine a light on the remarkable ways dogs contribute to our communities through service, protection, and compassion,” said Brandi Hunter Munden, President of the AKC Humane Fund. “These nominations represent powerful stories of courage and dedication, as well as the people and organizations who support these extraordinary dogs. We are proud to honor their impact and share these inspiring examples of what dogs can achieve.”
Each year, the AKC Humane Fund, a not-for-profit organization, honors dedicated, hardworking dogs making significant contributions to an individual or entire community. Since its creation in 2000, over 130 ACE awards have been presented. Last year’s honorees ranged from a Standard Poodle providing comfort to communities impacted by the California wildfires to an English Springer Spaniel that detects bacteria threatening the bee population.
The AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence are proudly sponsored by Eukanuba™. Winners, who will be announced at the end of 2026, will be highlighted in made-for-tv specials on AKC Good Dog TV and will receive $1,000 to be awarded to a pet-related charity of their choice as well as a medallion.
Dogs can be nominated in the following categories:
Eligibility: Full-time working K-9s in the realms of city, county, state, or federal law enforcement; the military; firefighting; customs and border patrol; emergency services.
Eligibility: Dogs without formal training or certification that have nonetheless distinguished themselves in some way and have made a meaningful contribution to their owners or communities. Nominees doing therapy work without certification are considered in the Exemplary Companion category.
Eligibility: Dogs certified to assist in one of two sub-categories:
Eligibility: Certified therapy dogs working in hospitals, schools, disaster sites, war zones, and wherever else the affection of a good dog can provide comfort.
Eligibility: Service dogs who enrich the lives of physically or mentally disabled owners, including, but not limited to, guide dogs for the blind, seizure-alert dogs, hearing dogs, balance dogs.
Eligibility: teams of more than one dog certified to assist in search and rescue (human detection and disaster response), therapy and/or K9 police work.
Anyone, including the dog’s owner or handler, may submit a nomination. Dogs nominated in previous years are eligible for resubmission for these awards. Please note that we don’t accept posthumous nominations.
Submissions for the AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence for 2026 must include:
Nominations will be accepted until July 1st, 2026 and should be submitted here with a photo sent to communications@akc.org.
For more information about the ACE awards or to nominate a dog, visit AKC.org or the AKC Humane Fund website.
American Kennel Club (AKC)
