Artist Susan Bahary Named 2022 “Dogs’ Best Friend Award” Recipient

Annual Kennel Club of Philadelphia Recognition Heralds Those Who Contribute To Animal Welfare Causes in America

Susan Bahary poses with President George H.W. Bush’s service dog “Sully” and a life-size bronze of his likeness she created for the permanent collection at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas.

Susan Bahary, renowned sculptor honoring service animals, has been named recipient of The Kennel Club of Philadelphia’s “Dogs’ Best Friend Award” for 2022. Bahary, who specializes in canine art out of her Bay Area studio in California, will be recognized on Saturday, November 19, during National Dog Show ceremonies at The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA.

Bahary is internationally acclaimed for her inspiring sculptures honoring the human-animal bond and service animals. Mastering both form and emotion in her animal and human subjects, her work has captured hearts worldwide. She is known for her unique gift of combining accurate form with stunning, lifelike expression. Her extensive knowledge of and experience with the animal form continues to earn her commissioned works for some of our country’s most celebrated animal monuments located in prominent museums, universities, military bases and abroad.

Bahary is the visionary and selected sculptor for the National Service Animals Monument, Inc., whose mission is to build a National Service Animals Memorial in Washington, DC or its environs. The National Memorial will honor the contributions of service animals and their handlers in service for the safety, security and independence of Americans throughout our nation’s history. The National Service Animals Memorial Act, bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), among others, has wideranging support and appears headed to passage. If successful, it would establish February 24 each year as National Service Animals Day.

Representative for PA’s 7th congressional district (Greater Lehigh Valley) Susan Wild is committed to seeing this become a reality: “Congratulations to Susan Bahary on this award in recognition of her body of work, which has done so much to build awareness of the critical role that service animals play in our society,” said U.S. Representative Susan Wild. “I’m incredibly proud that the House of Representatives came together in recognition of this cause by passing our bipartisan National Service Animals Memorial Act, and I look forward to continuing to work together with advocates to get it passed through the Senate and signed into law.”

The Kennel Club of Philadelphia award includes a $5,000 donation and Bahary will direct those funds to support the mission and work of the National Service Animals Monument, Inc. “The work Susan Bahary has done expressing the bond between animals and humans through art has captivated many and the Kennel Club of Philadelphia is privileged to honor her with this year’s Dogs’ Best Friend Award” said Wayne Ferguson, President of the Kennel Club of Philadelphia.

Bahary created America’s first official war dog memorial, “Always Faithful,” that was dedicated at the US Marine Corps War Dog Cemetery on Guam in 1994. She has since been a leader in raising awareness of and support for their deeds and sacrifices. In 2019, Bahary completed a lifesize bronze of President George H.W. Bush’s service dog “Sully” for the permanent collection at his Presidential Library and Museum. In 2020, her monument “The Pledge,” featuring a woman soldier connecting with her devoted service dog as they ready themselves for their upcoming mission, was unveiled to great acclaim where it resides in the permanent collection of the Military Women’s Memorial in Arlington Cemetery.

The Kennel Club of Philadelphia created “The Dogs’ Best Friend Award” to inspire and motivate others to contribute to animal welfare in their community, and protect our region’s dogs whose service and companionship are a critical and enriching part of American life. Past winners of the award are:

• Rosalyn “Rose” Fennell, Superintendent of Valley Forge National Historical Park (2021);
• Gerry Shreiber, President and CEO of J&J Snack Foods Corp, whose donation established The Shreiber Family Pet Therapy Program at Rowan University (2019);
• Canine Partners for Life (CPL), the suburban Philadelphia-based non-profit provider of canine service dogs (2018);
• John DeBella, the popular Philadelphia morning radio personality for nearly four decades. (2017);
• Dr. Cindy Otto, founder of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center (2016);
• Former CBS3 meteorologist, animal enthusiast and TV personality Carol Erickson (2015);
• Marian Marchese, the founder of New Leash on Life USA, which takes at-risk dogs into Philadelphia prisons to be cared for by inmates preparing for release back into society (2014);
• Morris Animal Rescue of Philadelphia, America’s oldest such facility (2013);
• The Martin & Toni Sosnoff Foundation, which paid the medical bills of search and rescue dogs who worked at 9/11 (2012);
• Former Philadelphia Phillies’ second baseman Chase Utley and his wife, Jen, for their establishment of the Utley Foundation (2011).

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Posted by Liz on Nov 8 2022. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.