Cesar Millan, World Renowned Dog Expert, and David Wicks, Vice President of The NASDAQ OMX Group, To Be Honored at Animal League's Prestigious DogCatemy Rescue Awards Dinner

Bells and Barks Will be Heard at Annual Life-Saving Event

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Nov. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --  North Shore Animal League America will hold its annual DogCatemy Rescue Awards Dinner on Thursday, December 8th at 6:00 pm at the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square, New York City.  Highlighting the life-saving efforts of the Animal League, this annual event will begin with the Closing Bell Ceremony, followed by a celebrity Red Carpet cocktail hour and a program that will spotlight NSALA's guests of honor: Cesar Millan, World Renowned Dog Expert, and David Wicks, Vice President of The NASDAQ OMX Group.  

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(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111130/DC14796-b )
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Animal lover and nationally respected co-host of FOX News Channel's FOX and Friends, Brian Kilmeade, will lead the program as Master of Ceremonies.  The evening is themed around the rapidly expanding Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum, where beginning at a very young age students are learning about social and emotional skills, and strategies to promote shelter pets, otherwise known as Mutt-i-grees®.

The Animal League will bestow the inaugural "Cesar Millan Award for Excellence in Mutt-i-grees Education" to Cesar Millan, internationally renowned dog rehabilitation expert and star of Nat Geo WILD's 'The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan'.  The award recognizes the impact Cesar Millan is having in the humane field and honors him for his many contributions, including the founding of the Millan Foundation.   This Foundation funds the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum, a collaboration between North Shore Animal League America and Yale University's School of the 21st Century, promoting the development of calm, confident and caring children who can make a difference in the lives of people and animals. 

"Cesar Millan has truly set himself apart as a leader and adoption advocate," said John Stevenson, President of North Shore Animal League America.  He added, "His generosity and financial support, as well as his commitment and extensive involvement in the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum are raising the standard for humane education.  Cesar's dedication is evident in contributing to new trends and lessons for people and pets to ensure a happy, loving life together."

The Animal League's Corporate Champion Award will be presented to David Wicks, Vice President of The NASDAQ OMX Group.  The award recognizes the deep appreciation that Wicks has shown for the precious animals that can be found in shelters and his continuing efforts to identify opportunities to promote the adoption of homeless pets.

"David Wicks has wholeheartedly embraced the Mutt-i-grees Movement, both professionally and personally," said Stevenson.  "He has taken every opportunity to promote the message that adoption is the best option when looking for a pet.  He himself adopted a German Shepherd Mutt-i-gree from the Animal League and appropriately named the dog Freedom."

The evening will include a special presentation featuring prize-winning Public Service Announcements created by students nationwide, encouraging Americans to adopt Mutt-i-grees.  The students participated in a national contest that is part of the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum.  A $10,000 Grand Prize grant and three $1,500 Regional Prize grants will be presented to each winning school at the event. The winning schools are from Pennsylvania, California, Kentucky, and Texas.  Funding for the contest and grant prizes was made possible through the generosity of the friends and family of Tamara Tullman, a North Shore Animal League America volunteer who adored animals and loved to teach children.

The DogCatemy Rescue Awards Dinner reflects North Shore Animal League America's belief that all shelter pets find a loving home.  Since its inception in 1944, the Animal League has saved more than one million lives. The proceeds from the DogCatemy Rescue Awards Dinner will enable the Animal League to strengthen its nationwide rescue efforts, saving nearly 20,000 lives each year.  To learn more about North Shore Animal League America, visit AnimalLeague.org. 

About North Shore Animal League America
North Shore Animal League America, headquartered in Port Washington, NY, is the largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization in the world.  The Animal League reaches across the country to rescue, nurture and adopt approximately 20,000 pets into happy and loving homes each year.  Over the past decade, the Animal League saved over 200,000 lives and has saved more than 1,000,000 animals since its inception. Visit www.AnimalLeague.org.

About Mutt-i-grees Curriculum
The Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum is a new, innovative program that builds on children's affinity for animals and highlights the unique characteristics and desirability of Mutt-i-grees®, or shelter pets. The Curriculum teaches social and emotional skills and is unique in its bridging of humane education and the emerging field of Social and Emotional Learning. The Mutt-i-grees Curriculum was developed by The Pet Savers Foundation, in collaboration with the Yale University School of the 21st Century, and was funded by The Millan Foundation. For more information, visit http://education.muttigrees.org/.

About The Millan Foundation
On Valentines Day 2007 Cesar Millan officially established The Millan Foundation with the mission to create and deliver community humane education programs and promote animal welfare by supporting the rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of abused and abandoned dogs.

Since its inception The Millan Foundation has been creating lifelong healthy relationships between dogs and people through a series of grants to non-profit animal shelters and rescues, community education programs including The Mutt-i-Grees Curriculum, spay and neuter campaigns and emergency animal rescue through the Daddy's Emergency Animal Rescue (DEAR) Fund. For more information visit www.millanfoundation.org.

About NASDAQ OMX
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with more than 3,500 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX first North, and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com/. *Please follow NASDAQ OMX on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/NASDAQ-OMX/108167527653) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx).

Devera Lynn                                                      Cara Taback
P: 516.883.7633                                               516.883.7636
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SOURCE North Shore Animal League America