Awards & honors

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  November/December 2013:

Luke Gamble,  founder of Worldwide Veterinary Service in 2003,  on December 11,  2013 received the Jeanne Marchig Animal Welfare Award in recognition of Mission Rabies,  a planned three-year drive to eradicate rabies of India.  Debuting in September 2013 with clinics in 10 cities that have had recent rabies outbreaks,  Mission Rabies vaccinated 61,000 dogs in 28 days.  Named for Marchig Trust founder Jeanne Marchig,  who died in May 2013,  the Marchig Award includes a grant of $20,000 in support of Mission Rabies.  Funding has also come from Dogs Trust,  with logistic support from the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations,  the Animal Birth Control progams of the Animal Welfare Board of India,  and Blue Cross of India. Animals Asia Foundation founder Jill Robinson received the “People’s Choice” award at the November 26,  2013 Spirit of Hong Kong Awards program sponsored by the South China Morning Post. National Mill Dog Rescue founder Theresa Strader,  of Colorado Springs,  Colorado,  in November 2013 received both the Henry Bergh Award from the American SPCA and the “Hero of the Year Award” from the Home Again Pet Recovery Service,  a project of Merck Animal Health.  Strader was honored for helping to rehome nearly 8,000 dogs since 2007 who have been impounded from puppy mills.  The ASPCA also honored  Catherine Violet Hubbard,  6,  an animal rescuer who was among the 20 children killed during the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,  Connecticut on December 14,  2012.  The Newtown Animal Center is fundraising to build an animal sanctuary in her memory. Animal Hero Kids Inc. on December 2,  2013 honored Hong Kong anti-ivory campaigner Celia Ho,  14;   Florida lobbyist for animals Thomas Ponce,  12,   who began with a successful 20-minute effort to persuade a fisher to release a baby shark in 2012 in Venice,  Florida;  vegan entrepreneur Clara Poito,  17,  who founded Clara’s Cakes in 2009;  and groups including Kids Against Cruelty,  the PhotoVoice project at Abbie’s School in Culebra,  Puerto Rico,  and the students at Point Loma High School in San Diego who produced a YouTube video entitled “Dear SeaWorld.”