Awards
Awardees to date have been:
2023: Animal Rescue Kharkiv — for being invaluable partners to PETA Germany, working on the ground since the first days of the war in Ukraine to provide shelter and rehoming services for displaced animals, administering veterinary care to injured animals, and distributing millions of pounds of food to animals in need.
2022: Helga Tacreiter — for founding the New Jersey-based Cow Sanctuary and dedicating more than 30 years of her life to rescuing dozens of cows and other farmed animals — while inspiring people to value those animals’ lives as they value the lives of their dog and cat companions.
2021: Sheila Choi -- for founding and leading the Fuzzy Pet Foundation since 2005, providing spay and neuter services to more than 6,000 cats and dogs, and rescuing and rehoming more than 2,000 animals, in the Los Angeles region and beyond.
2020: Julia Novak - for 10 years of volunteer work with PETA -- fostering rescued animals with special needs (including Itchy, who Greg and I adopted), helping PETA’s Community Animal Project fieldworkers serve animals in impoverished communities, participating in PETA protests and work parties, and coordinating vigils for factory-farmed pigs at a Smithfield slaughterhouse.
2019: Paulette Dean - for 27 years as Danville Area Humane Society Executive Director, and accomplishments including passing one of Virginia's strictest anti-tethering ordinances.
2018: Stacey Norris - Houses of Wood & Straw for building over 1,000 doghouses for backyard dogs in Central Virginia.
2017: Virginia Beach SPCA for offering shelter and care for over 4,000 companion animals each year.
2016: Katie McCotter of Suffok, Virginia for fostering horses, pigs, chickens and other homeless animals.