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2008 Minnesota Animal Hall of Fame Awards MVMA Animal Hall of Fame Awards To celebrate and recognize the important link between animals and humans, the MVMA awarded three exceptional animals at the 2009 annual convention. The Animal Hall of Fame added Hero, Companion and Professional animals to its list of inductees this year.
Professional
Animal of the Year (Animals
especially trained to assist humans)– Lincoln (dog)
Lincoln is a Hearing and Service Dog of Minnesota who was matched with 6 year old, Zachery Lowe, a boy with autism. When Lincoln was placed with Zachery no one realized the changes that were in store for Zachery and his family. Lincoln has become an integral part of their daily lives. Not only is he assisting Zachery, Lincoln is helping Zach become more social, more verbal, and less intimidated in new situations and environments. The whole Lowe family has reaped benefits from the amazing and wonderful abilities of Lincoln. Dr. Susan Breteson is the veterinarian providing care to Lincoln. Congratulations to Lincoln in receiving the Professional Animal of the Year Award
Companion Animal of the Year (Animals who have provided a benefit to their human companions or their community)– Ratchet (dog)
Congratulations to Ratchet in receiving the Companion Animal of the Year Award.
Hero Animal of the Year (Animals who have saved or preserved human life) – Batman (dog)
Congratulations to Batman in receiving the Hero Animal of the Year Award
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Ratchet,
a border collie mix, may be familiar to
many of you since his story has gained
national attention. Ratchet was pulled
from a burning trash pit in May of 2008
by US soldiers in Iraq. One of the
soldiers that befriended Ratchet was his
current owner, Gwen Beberg. Through
nurturing and some training, Ratchet
became a loving companion and guard dog
to Ms. Beberg and other soldiers during
their service term in Iraq. Ratchet was
accepted into the SPCA International
Operation Baghdad Pups program and a
date was set for his trip to the US when
he was stopped on his way to the Baghdad
Int’l airport and prevented by military
policy from leaving the country.
Through a groundswell of political and
public pressure, Ratchet was eventually
allowed to leave Baghdad and travel to
the US to its new home with Ms. Beberg
in Minnesota. Dr. Jim Winsor is the
veterinarian providing care to Ratchet.
Batman
is a 10 year old shepherd mix, named for
his black pointed ears that resemble the
superhero. Anna Brailovsky and Eric
Baker are the owners of Batman. Batman
has been a research patient at the
University of Minnesota College of
Veterinary Medicine and Masonic Cancer
Center. Batman was diagnosed last year
with a cancerous brain tumor that would
have been fatal without the help of
researchers at the college, including
the help of veterinarian, Dr. Elizabeth
Pluhar. Batman underwent a 3 hour
procedure which removed as much of the
brain tumor as possible, along with
injecting gene therapy around the board
of the tumor area. The purpose of the
injection was to prime the lingering
cancer cells for a vaccine, which Batman
received multiple times last fall.
Little does Batman know that he has
played a key role in assisting
researchers to perform the first steps
of an experimental procedure to treat
dogs with brain cancer. The research
may also be helpful in treating humans
with brain tumors.