PHOTOS: “If we can save just one life, it’s all been worth it,” remarks 2019 AKC ACE Award-winning dog owner Dayna Hilton.
Hilton, executive director of the Arkansas-based Keep Kids Fire Safe ® Foundation, has certainly saved far more lives than one, but she isn’t the star of the road appearances and Skype shows that keep her in motion year-round. That would be her soulmate, Molly, a 7-year-old, 60-pound Dalmatian.
An ideal archetype of her breed’s history as firehouse icons, Molly is the focus of presentations and exhibitions designed to help reduce fire-related deaths and injuries among children and their families across the country. The pair’s hard work hasn’t been overlooked, either.
This month, Molly and Hilton were named winners of the American Kennel Club Humane Funds Award for Canine Excellence (ACE) in the “Exemplary Companion Dog” category, one of five dog/owner teams who will be recognized at the AKC National Championships presented by Royal Canin in Orlando, Florida, in December.