We especially love when consumers are the judges, which is the case for the Zootoo.com Pet Lover Choice Awards. We’re proud that Halo Spot’s Stew for cats was named “the best of the best in the pet world as chosen by hundreds of thousands of pet lovers in the Zootoo.com community.”

Halo’s won a number of awards recently, and I’ve been slow to fill y’all in on them. But more soon, I promise! Meanwhile, here’s where you can learn more about our holistic, natural cat food.

We’re thankful and honored for the attention the pet industry has shown Halo of late. As you may know, it’s taken a couple decades for the pet industry to really become interested in real, natural ingredients in food for pets. In fact, way back in the 1980’s, Halo wasn’t even sold in pet stores – only natural food stores had the vision to carry Halo products.

Most recently, Halo co-owner Ellen DeGeneres was honored by the Global Pet Expo – the industry’s largest annual trade show – with the prestigious “Excellence in Pet Industry Journalism Award.”

You can find the link to Ellen’s acceptance speech here:

The Global Pet Expo press release explains, “In 2008, DeGeneres took her love for pets a step further with the purchase of her own pet product company, Halo Purely for Pets, a manufacturer that promotes the need for healthy, all natural, high-grade ingredients in dog food.”

Further, Bob Vetere, President of the American Pet Products Association, said, “Ellen is one of those rare individuals who can take a situation, even a negative one, and turn it into a positive. For all that she has done to raise awareness for pet adoptions, we are truly grateful. We are thrilled to honor her for her commitment and contributions to the pet industry.”

Halo’s Liv-a-Littles white meat chicken protein treats won the Buzzillions Reviewers’ Choice Award for top treat in 2008, thanks to scores of long-time pet lovers just like you who wrote in.

The Liv-a-Littles are beloved by and good for both cats and dogs, since they are just pure chicken. Tracy, from Chicago, writes that her “cats would happily kill me to get this” while a long-time pet owner in Pennsylvania writes: “My VERY fussy Yorkie absolutely devours these treats! She very quickly learned that when we said “chicken”, she needed to run to the fridge, sit and wait for her treat. These are a hit!”

Buzzillions, by the way, is a website created for consumers to rate products. Its CEO, Andy Chen, has said that while most product awards are judged by a small group of industry experts, theBuzzillions Reviewers’ Choice awards are unique “in that they are judged by the people, for the people.”

And most definitely by the dogs and cats. “Pure cat crack,” writes Rula of New York, N.Y. “The begging never stops.”

I mentioned this in an earlier post, but it’s really worthy of its own. At Halo, we’re very proud to have a co-owner who does so much for animals. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are the recipients of the Wyler Award, given to a celebrity or public figure who has made news on behalf of animals. According to Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, “They had a particularly significant role in helping to pass Proposition 2, and they helped make the case to the people of California and to the rest of the nation that all animals deserve humane treatment, including animals raised for food.”

Congratulations, Ellen and Portia — you deserve it!

OK, so we have to brag a little bit. Yes, you’ll see a pretty famous celebrity associated with Halo being celebrated at the prestigious Humane Society of the United States gala Genesis Awards.

But I’m happy to say our very own lead blogger, Diane Herbst, was nominated for her powerful People Magazine story exposing Amish puppy mills.

Take a look at all the nominees (and yes, the Ellen Show is nominated as well). Let’s root for Diane and Ellen to win – but most of all, let’s celebrate all those who have chosen to become the animals’ voices.