Furry Tails: Butler Co. Beagle Needs Your Vote In The Finals Of The American Humane Hero Dog Awards
By: KDKA-TV Digital Content Producer Heather Lang
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A beagle from Butler County has been named the country's top therapy dog.
You all helped to vote Bow Tie Boone, the spokesdog for local charity Joey's PAW, to the top of the Therapy Dog Category in the American Humane Hero Dog Awards competition.
Boone is a survivor of animal cruelty.
Before coming to live in Pennsylvania, his previous owner in Texas cut off his back legs. Boone survived the trauma and has been adopted by a loving couple here in Butler County.
They fitted him for a wheelchair and worked to train him as a therapy dog.
Now Boone helps kids with mobility issues just like him. He shows them that they are not alone and teaches their peers that people with disabilities are not so different from everyone else.
As the top dog in the Therapy Category, Boone now moves on to the finals of the American Humane Hero Dog Awards. The annual, national competition honors "ordinary dogs who do extraordinary things."
Boone joins six other finalists up for the Hero Dog Award title. They were chosen through rounds of voting from an initial field of more than 400 nominees.
The public can vote in the finals daily now through Sept. 5.
To cast your vote for Boone, click here.
The awards ceremony will be broadcast on the Hallmark Channel in the fall.
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Stay tuned animal lovers for more Furry Tails! You can follow me on Twitter at @HeatherLang24