The 15th Annual Hero Awards hosted by the organization the Arizona Pet Project will honor five animals that have demonstrated courage while overcoming various challenges.
"It's an evening to celebrate the human and animal heroes in our community," said Leanna Taylor the executive director of the Arizona Pet Project.
Animals make such an enormous contribution to many people in their everyday lives.
"They are our therapy, they are our service dogs," Taylor said.
The five awards and honorees are;
1. Animal Hero: Cuffie, the adopted cat who saved the life of a little boy by waking up his parents. The little boy was gearing toward a diabetic coma in the middle of the night.
2. Animal Survivor: BB Bear is an adorable, puppy who was found nearly beaten to death at 2-months old. He miraculously fought through the odds and was eventually adopted.
3. Loyal Companion: Stella the Pitbull provided comfort and saved the daughter of a family on the brink of suicide by providing her joy.
4. Service to the Community: Nana was found in the desert. She is now a wonderful therapy dog who provides comfort and assistance to those in need.
5. Over the Rainbow Bridge: Fozzie is the nation's first full-time crisis response K-9 from the Scottsdale Police Department. He sadly died in October.
12 News went to visit the 911 call center at the Scottsdale Police Department where Fozzie worked.
Fozzie was a beautiful Golden Retriever who assisted in various situations around the Valley to help people in need. He died from valley fever and cancer.
"To have some of the community honor Fozzie for such a prestigious award and learning more and more about The Arizona Pet Project and the annual award, it's such a huge honor," said Anthony Pagliuca, a police crisis intervention specialist.
Pagliuca was Fozzie's handler for about 11 years and says Fozzie was a special dog.
"We got Chase several months later to kind of continue the legacy that Fozzie started and he's doing really well," said Pagliuca. "He's got a lot of puppy energy and he's a sweet guy, he’s going to help a lot of people."
Pagliuca is now Chase's handler and says Chase has some ways to go to fill Fozzie's shoes, but his future is looking bright.
"Dogs and pets, they're just so good for us they make us better people, they can help lower our blood pressure, lower our pulse when we have a bad day," Pagliuca said.
And it's true, pets always seem to brighten up your day. The awesome thing about the Hero Awards is that anyone can submit their pet to possibly receive an award.
"We look for stories that have been well-documented, families that have tracked their pet heroes through the years," Pagliuca said.
Taylor says The Arizona Pet Project looks for pet applicants that have saved a life, overcame challenges or have provided amazing services to individuals in need.
Paglicua mentions that if people in the community would like to volunteer their dog to visit kids in hospital or just help people in need, they should contact their local non-profit provider.
Congratulations to all the award recipients. An animal can be a person's best friend.