Jewel to Perform at the American Humane Association's Hero Dog Awards, 10/6

American Humane Association and Hallmark Channel announced today that top-selling country music artist Jewel is performing at the American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards™.  The star-studded evening honoring America's most courageous canines,  presented by the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation and produced by Emmy^® award-winning MRB Productions, will air as a 90-minute special on Hallmark Channel November 8, 2012 at 8:00 pm ET/PT. The program will air as part of Hallmark Channel's Pet Project, the network's cross-platform campaign designed to celebrate the joy and enrichment animals bring to our lives.

"Animals are such an important part of my life and that's why I am so honored to be performing at this wonderful event and to be supporting a cause like the American Humane Association," said Jewel.    

"We are so pleased to welcome Jewel to the stage the Hero Dog Awards," said American Humane Association President and CEO Dr. Robin Ganzert. "Jewel's singular talent and incredible voice are sure to thrill the audience, and her deeply-felt compassion for animals is an inspiration to all of us and make her a perfect fit for this event honoring America's hero dogs."

Jewel is an acclaimed American singer, songwriter, actress, poet, painter, and philanthropist. From the remote ranch of her Alaskan youth to the triumph of international stardom, the three-time Grammy nominee, hailed by the New York Times as a "songwriter bursting with talents", has enjoyed career longevity rare among her generation of artists. Her singular style and beauty continuously land her on the covers of such diverse magazines as Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, In Style, Glamour and Seventeen.

Her first record, a deeply introspective, live, voice-and-acoustic-guitar, modern folk collection called Pieces of You, sold about 3,000 copies, nearly all in San Diego, in the nine months after its February 1995 debut. Jewel hit the road with a vengeance, playing four shows a day in 40 cities. Hard work and heartfelt songwriting, not to mention an exquisitely expressive voice, paid off. After a year on the road, "Who Will Save Your Soul" became a major hit. And, with the release of two other hit singles, "You Were Meant for Me" and "Foolish Games," album sales went through the roof.

After a tremendous amount of success as a singer-songwriter and over 27 million albums sold, Jewel returned to her roots with the release of her debut country album Perfectly Clear in June 2008, which garnered her a spot at #1 on the Billboard country album charts.  Perfectly Clear was the debut release on the Nashville-based independent label The Valory Music Co.  Shortly after Perfectly Clear, Jewel debuted her first-ever independent release, Lullaby, which has sold over 350,000 copies to date.  

Jewel had a song "Stay Here Forever," featured in movie and on the soundtrack of the blockbuster hit Valentine's Day. The singer's songs and ethereal voice have accompanied many other motion pictures in the past including CLUELESS, BATMAN & ROBIN, PHENOMENON, LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT, SWEET HOME ALABAMA (theme song) and Ang Lee's independent civil war dramaRIDE WITH THE DEVIL, where she earned critical praise for her acting debut alongside stars Tobey Maguire and Skeet Ulrich. Becoming a staple on television, from talk shows to "Saturday Night Live" and "Mad TV," Jewel also guest starred on the NBC drama "The Lyons Den," playing a lawyer opposite series star Rob Lowe. 

Jewel is joined in her support of the Second Annual Hero Dog Awards by many other major celebrities and animal advocates, including the judges: actor Whoopi Goldberg, author and philanthropist Candy Spelling, actor Michelle Forbes,  television host Victoria Stilwell, singer/songwriter Miranda Lambert, actor J.R. Martinez and actor Kristin Bauer Van Straten.

Slated to attend the event along with Kristin Chenoweth who is hosting the show and television star Joey Lawrencewho is set to host the red carpet for Hallmark Channel prior to the awards are presenters: actor Michael Vartan, actor Denise Richards, stylist and philanthropist John Paul DeJoria, actor Trevor Donovan, singer Naomi Judd, actor Kellie Martin,Jake Pavelka of "The Bachelor," actor Pauley Perrette, actor Jake Austin, television host Mark Steines, actor Alan Ritchson, actor AJ Cook, Lisa Vanderpump, "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," actor Bailee Madison, Olympic Gold medalist swimmer Ricky Berens, actor Edie McClurg, actor Megyn Price and actor Mara Marini.

Now in its second year, the second annual national Hero Dog Awards competition searches out and recognizes America's Hero Dogs – often ordinary dogs who do extraordinary things, whether it's saving lives on the battlefield, lending sight or hearing to a human companion, or simply the tail-wagging welcome a pet owner relishes at the end of a hard day.  Dogs compete in eight categories for the Hero Dog Awards: Law Enforcement & Arson Dogs, Service Dogs, Therapy Dogs, Military Dogs, Guide Dogs, Search and Rescue Dogs, Hearing Dogs, and Emerging Hero Dogs (the category for "ordinary" dogs).