Dogs Of Valor Awards: Animal Heroes Honored For Saving Lives

For the third consecutive year, the Humane Society of the United States is honoring the amazing efforts of dogs around the country who are heroes in their community. The ten finalists for the Dogs of Valor Awards have saved lives by alerting humans to fires, carbon monoxide poisoning and other dangers.

Finalists include dogs like Jackson, an 8-month-old Doberman pinscher, who alerted his owner that his elderly neighbor was trapped under a door which had fallen on her while she was outside her New Jersey home.

Jobe, an 8-year-old Hungarian viszla in Nebraska, also has an incredible story. His owner, Dominic Wiederin, has allergies so severe that an attack can leave him gasping for air, unable to call for help. Jobe has saved his life three times by alerting family members when Wiederin was having allergic reactions in the middle of the night. For Jobe, it's probably just a small act of gratitude to a loving owner that rescued him from the side of the road years ago.

Of the ten animal heroes nominated, the winner and two runners-up will be chosen by a panel of judges, including actresses Kristin Bell and Sally Pressman, and Jay Kopelman, an Iraq war veteran, author and founder of the nonprofit, Freedom Is Not Free. Another winner will be chosen by the public, for the People's Hero award. Voting ends March 12 at 5 p.m. EST.