Maryland Girl to be Honored as This Year's National Kind Kid to Animals

American Humane Association
Friday, 29 June 2001

Friday Event To Honor 12-Year-Old Shannon Watt's Efforts To Outfit Police Dogs With Bulletproof Vests

On Friday, June 29, the American Humane Association (AHA) will honor 12-year Shannon Watt of Hampstead, MD, as the winner of the 2001 Be Kind To Animals Kid Contest. American Humane selected Shannon for this honor, which includes a $10,000 award, after she launched a community service campaign called "Vest a K-9" to outfit police dogs with bulletproof vests.

Friday's event will take place at the Snyder Foundation for Animals, 3600 Clipper Mill Road, Baltimore, MD and will feature representatives from American Humane and area police K-9 units. The event will begin at 1:00 p.m. Media are invited to attend.

While police dogs face the same threats as police officers in the field, funding for canine bulletproof vests is not usually part of a police force budget. Upon hearing stories about how police dogs are killed while working, Shannon was motivated to take action to protect these animals. So far, the sixth-grader had devoted more than 50 hours to this project and vows to continue until all of the state's police dogs are properly vested. Shannon has organized a car wash, placed donation cans in veterinary offices, approached corporate sponsors, and painted faces to raise the $484.75 needed per vest. In just one day, Shannon collected $414, while selling donuts and asking for donations in front of a WalMart store. A newspaper article on her efforts got the attention of the Snyder Foundation for Animals, who nominated Shannon for American Humane's Be Kind To Animals Kid Contest. Already, Shannon has been instrumental in getting five police dogs in the state properly outfitted, and another donation last month insured that a sixth dog would be vested soon.

Prizes for American Humane's national winner include a $10,000 scholarship and a prize package, including: an assortment of books from Random House Children's Books; a supply of SIERRA, the safer antifreeze for the family vehicles; and t-shirts and bumper stickers from the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.

For more information, or to contact American Humane Association, see their website at: www.americanhumane.org