NEW YORK, N.Y. — The American Kennel Club, yesterday, announced its 2025 AKC Awards for Canine Excellence, otherwise known as the 26^th annual ACE Awards.

The awards recognize accomplishments in seven categories, including:

• Exemplary Companion, which includes dogs who are not formally trained or certified yet have contributed to their owners well being or local community.
• Search & Rescue, in two subcategories for human detection and disaster response.
• Service, recognizing dogs that assist their disabled human companions.
• Team, for dogs certified to work in rescue, therapy or in K9 police roles.
• Uniformed Service K9, that includes dogs working in city, state or Federal law enforcement, including military, firefighting, customs & border patrol and emergency.

This year’s winners are:

Syd, who is also an Obedience and Hunt Champion, took Exemplary Companion. Syd is a support dog for her mom and master dog trainer Roberta Hockenberry, who is a recent amputee. Not only does Syd assist with Hockenberry’s physical challenges, but she also collaborates with Hockenberry to help train other dogs.

Maple, an English Springer Spaniel was awarded for skills in identifying human remains. Noted for a case that involved a drowning, as well as in cold cases where she was able to eliminate potential search sites, an injury forced Maple to retire from investigative work. Previously trained in bed bug detection (Cimex), Maple now helps at Michigan University Pollinator Performance Center, to detect the presence of bacteria that’s fatal to honeybees. That’s one heck of a nose! Maple is owned by Sue Stejskal.

Flint, a German Shepard, is certified through FEMA, and has participated in search-and-rescue operations as part of the New Jersey Task Force-1 Urban Search and Rescue team. He has helped search the sites of explosions and building collapses (including the 2021 Surfside Condos collapse in Florida) and was onsite after Hurricanes Ida and Helene. Flint is owned by Jennifer Michelson.

Bea was recognized in the Service category. The black Labrador was paired U.S.M.C. and Air National Guard veteran Buddy Niner by nonprofit Warrior Canine Connection. Bea has helped with challenges for her Buddy, including anxiety and night terrors. Bea’s support has enabled Niner to pursue a career as a firefighter at the Letterkenny Army Depot. Bea is his daily companion, from training exercises to emergency response incidents.

Crisis Response Canines of Blackwood, New Jersey took the prize in the team category, for their work “the field of animal-assisted interventions, establishing national standards that redefine excellence in crisis response.” Each member of the team is a recognized therapy dog and assists with Critical Incident Stress Management response in situations like mass shootings, catastrophic wildfires and other traumatic community events.

Rudy, a San Fernando Valley local, was awarded the top Therapy Dog recognition, with handler Steven Zonis (pictured in featured photo). The pair hails from Chatsworth, California, where Rudy has worked with City of Los Angeles Emergency Command Centers to provide therapy to emergency response personnel and crisis victims.

Keva won the prize for Uniformed Service K9 with her handler San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Gabriel Jasso. The blood hound detective uses her breed’s legendary olfactory skills to locate missing persons and suspects. Since beginning her career at eight months old, Keva has located 23 adults and children who suffered from memory impairment or cognitive disabilities and, in one case, she was able to locate a bank robber from the scent left on the demand note given to the bank teller.

Dogs — always helping humans with their super skills and innate sense of empathy. Every dog is a hero to the humans that love them. APT salutes them and all the special working dogs that have dedicated their lives to improving the lives of others.

To see the full list this year’s recipients of the AKC Awards for Canine Excellence, visit AKC.org.

Photo: Courtesy of AKC.org/Steven Zonis-Rudy