America’s top celebrities and animal advocates gathered at New York’s Gotham Hall for American Humane Association’s “Super Heroes Among Us,” honoring heroes to animals and the eight courageous canine finalists in the charity’s 2012 Hero Dog Awards.  Deputy President of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Masa Tanaka was awarded the National Humanitarian Medal for his work with American Humane Association to help the animals of Japan following the earthquake and tsunami there.  SAG-AFTRA received the “Best Friend to Animals Award” for helping AHA to protect more than a million animal actors in TV and film through the charity’s renowned “No Animals Were Harmed®” certification program. among those attending: Lois Pope, Robin Ganzert, the Ganzert family, Masa Tanaka, Roberta Reardon, Bill Abbott, Carson Kressley, Jake T. Austin, Prince Borghese, Tinsley Mortimer, Kate Edmonds Donner and Alex Donner, Jean Shafiroff, Dick Robinson, Kenn Bell, Vanessa Mariani, Elizabeth and Mel Lyman, Jody Miller, and the four hero dogs (Soot, Gabe, Holly and Stella). For more information please visit our websites: www.americanhumane.org and www.herodogawards.org