WHAT ARE THE HUG AWARDS?
The Houston’s Unsung Greats Awards (HUG Awards) are sponsored by Attorney Stewart J. Guss to honor those local men and women who make a special contribution to the community of Houston.
Each month we award a prize of $100 and a Houston Hero t-shirt, and each year we give one of the local heroes $1000. These blog posts highlight the great work done the the charity workers who are among this year’s 6 contenders for the annual award.
THE CHARITY: ADORE HOUSTON
The first of our six final contenders is the wonderful Angela Madeksho from ADORE Houston. ADORE works to get stray and abandoned dogs off the streets and out of shelters — and to provide assistance to dogs who do have homes to help them stay in those homes by aiding and educating their owners.
ADORE provides rescue services, vet care, foster care and adoptive placement. Dogs come to them from many sources, including local animal shelters, owner surrenders and the streets of Houston.Their goal is to find safe and loving homes for each and every one.
One of the ways ADORE helps dogs is by helping their humans. When dogs owners are in need, they lend a hand so that they can keep their beloved pets and get back on their feet and assist in rehoming them if an owner is sick or dying, giving the owners peace of mind regarding their loving pet.
ADORE’s Mission
- Provide emotional and physical care to animals whenever possible.
- Spay or neuter and microchip all rescued dogs and cats
- Educate the public about the importance of spaying or neutering pets..
- Promote adoption of rescue animals and place rescues in appropriate homes after screening.
- Raise funds to meet our rescue’s needs.
- Respectfully come to the aid of other rescuers whenever possible.
- Teach and support people who have adopted rescues.
If you would like to adopt see details at the bottom of the page. Jack featured in this video is looking for a loving home.
THE NOMINEE: ANGELA MADEKSHO
When Renee Fellat nominated ADORE founder and director Angela Madeksho for a HUG Award and told us all about Angela’s dedication to the cause of helping down-on-their luck dogs in Houston we were both moved and incredibly honored to help.
Angela sounds like a real life Wonder Woman, not only working as an attorney full time, but also helping with a dazzling array of local good causes, here is what Renee had to say when we asked to her summarise Angela’s contribution to both ADORE and other Houston good causes:
Regarding Angela Madeksho, It’s hard to know exactly where to begin. None of this would be possible without her. Not only is she Managing Partner at Madeksho Law Firm, she is also Founder/Director of ADORE Houston. She has a deep passion for animals. It can be seen in everything she does. She participates in street rescue, pulls from local shelters, is a member of Unity for a Solution, sits on the BARC Animal Shelter Advisory Committee, works with Houston’s Homeless Outreach Team to find housing for pets while their owners find housing off of the streets as well as with Paws for Heroes to have dogs trained for service veterans. She has the hugest heart of anyone we know. Houston is definitely a better place because of her. She spent many hours working with the City of Houston, Unity for a Solution, Council Members Karla Cisneros and Robert Gallegos,and many other volunteers and organizations to bring together Big Fix Houston.
THE CASE STUDY: APOLLO
As if hearing about Angela’s multitude of good deeds didn’t make us emotional enough, the case study from ADORE sent tears trickling down our cheeks.
The story of Apollo, a dog who had cruelly had the front of his snout cut off and was found dumped on the side of the road and was taken in and cared for by ADORE is one that really encapsulates the work that ADORE does. When Renee first reached out to us Apollo had recently been rescued. Since then not only has he found a loving home (with one of ADORE Houston’s Team Members, Brittany Faske, who was actually one of the first to lay eyes on him when he was found), but has also become a symbol of what ADORE is all about. He has become our Animal Cruelty Ambassador and does an amazing job! He has participated in “I am Not a Monster” Holiday Drives, attended Crime Stoppers of Houston- Safe Community Seminars- What is animal cruelty? event and advocates #animalcrueltystopswithme. He has his own instagram page @adoreabullapollo and has had several articles published about him and his recovery.
See examples of Apollo’s media appearances here in USA TODAY and THE DODO.
If you would like to adopt a dog or learn more about the amazing work of this charity go to their website: www.adorehouston.org or follow them on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
