Everywhere in the world, we can observe and be touched by acts of kindness. People from all walks of life, faiths, and cultures extend themselves beyond the call of duty to help others unconditionally. Through their noble deeds, humanity as a whole is elevated.

To commend virtuous actions and encourage more people to be inspired by their examples, Supreme Master Ching Hai has lovingly created a series of awards, including the Shining World Leadership Award, Shining World Compassion Award, Shining World Hero and Heroine Awards, Shining World Honesty Award, Shining World Protection Award, Shining World Intelligence Award, and Shining World Inventor Award, to recognize some of the most exemplary, generous, caring, and courageous people who walk amongst us.

Myself, my husband, and my son are just ecstatic that we have ever met Susie. She is a one-in-a-million dog; she’d never be replaced, ever. She’s fabulous.

On a freezing winter night just before Christmas 2009 in Swindon, England, Lorna Hayes and her family were out searching for their missing, beloved companion Welly, an 11- week-old kitten.

He just disappeared one night and he’d never been out before. So we decided to start looking for him. We continued looking until midnight; we didn’t find him.

Lorna Hayes’ neighbor Lynn Johnson has a lovely Saluki cross Greyhound named Susie, adopted seven years ago from a local animal sanctuary. Ever since that happy day, Susie has been a wonderful companion to the Johnson family.

Greyhounds are known for their gentleness, serenity and intelligence. They enjoy close relationships with their human caregivers and bark very little compared to other breeds of dog. They are also wonderful friends to children. On the night of Welly’s disappearance, however, Susie’s behavior surprised her caregivers.

We went out, we didn’t get back until about 11 o’clock pm, and I let Susie out into the garden. And she came straight to this spot, and started barking, which is most unusual for Susie.

Lynn got the persistent Susie to come back into the house. The next morning, as soon as Susie was let out, she immediately ran to the same spot, trying to get Ms. Johnson’s attention.

I got up at six am and let Susie out again. Again she went to the same spot, which I thought was very strange. I thought it must be a fox or something; we got a lot of foxes around here.

On the other side of the lawn, Ms. Hayes who had been thinking about Welly’s safety the whole night, resumed her search for the missing kitten early in the morning, It was not until Lynn Johnson heard of Lorna Hayes’ anxiety that she began to realize that Susie’s unusual behavior might be a clue to Welly’s whereabouts.

I took Susie out at half past seven on a freezing cold morning; I think the temperature had dropped to minus six (Celsius) the night before, and I saw Lorna, and very upset, and she told me the story, and I said, “Well, just a moment, just come into the garden.” (I) took her to the spot, and there was this cat. We both scrambled right around, picked him up, cuddled him. He was freezing cold.

He was very cold. His core temperature had gone down a few degrees, which they said could indicate hypothermia, and the vet actually said that if he’d been out for more than an hour or so more, he may not have actually made it,

In recognition of her unwavering courage, loyalty, unconditional love and attentiveness in saving the life of Well, Supreme Master Ching Hai honored Susie with the Shining World Hero Award. One of our UK Association members presented the Award to Susie on Supreme Master Ching Hai’s behalf, and the noble canine listened attentively as the accompanying loving letter to her was read. Here’s an excerpt.

This Award is presented in recognition of your help to save a kitten’s life with your extraordinary persistence and acute senses, providing us all with a wonderful example of how animals are here to help and bless humans. For outstanding fidelity to humans and animals alike, for your unconditional love towards all beings in need, and for being human’s best friend, we hereby applaud and celebrate the heroic deeds of super canine Susie, the Saluki/Lurcher cross. With Great Honor, Love and Blessings, Supreme Master Ching Hai

Along with the Award, Susie and the Johnson family received Supreme Master Ching Hai’s #1 international best sellers, “The Dogs in My Life,” “The Birds in My Life” and “The Noble Wilds,” as well as a selection of her inspiring publications and DVDs. But what really made the delighted Susie’s eyes sparkle were the packages of delicious vegan dog treats that Supreme Master Ching Hai had lovingly provided.

Thank you very much. Susie! Delighted to receive this on behalf of Susie. I’m sure she will treasure it.

I’d like to take this opportunity from Susie and myself to really thank (Supreme) Master Ching Hai for this wonderful gift that they’ve given to Susie, and the recognition of what she’s done so far. (We) really appreciate it. She’s very much looking forward to having some of the treats that I know are all organic and vegan. And also because there are quite a lot, she’s going to donate them to an animal charity, who will also get great pleasure from these gifts. Once again, I’d really just like to say thank you so much to (Supreme) Master Ching Hai.

Once again our salute goes to Susie and her charitable caregiver Lynn Johnson for their genuine compassion for both animals and humans. After these messages, we’ll visit a UK-based charity that has saved the lives of hundreds of Indian bears. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

Welcome back to the Shining World Award series on Supreme Master Television. Founded in September 1989, the UK-based non-profit animal welfare group International Animal Rescue aids suffering animals around the world by saving them from unfavorable situations and re-homing them in caring sanctuaries or back into their natural environments, depending on their fitness. Being an advocacy group for animals, International Animal Rescue and its members support the adoption of a wise, compassionate vegetarian way of life.

We actually run a vegetarian office here and people are asked not to eat any animals in the premises. And also volunteering for any of our projects around the world, we supply vegetarian food, so we’re quite passionate about that and it does go down very well actually, especially in India where the food is quite delightful.

The group’s chief executive Mr. Alan Knight now describes how it all began.

We started about 20 years ago, and basically we were wanting to work with animals abroad, because we traveled abroad a lot and found there were an awful lot of animals that needed help. But we felt that we could get a lot more for our money if we invested that money abroad. So, it started as a very small organization working just in India, and we’ve expanded since then.

One the animals rescued by the organization are the “dancing bears,” subjects of a cruel, inhumane practice that was banned in India in 1972. However, in the decades that followed, many wild bears were still caught, beaten and forced to dance.

We started our work in India and we set up two really nice bear sanctuaries, one in the North of India and one in the South of India, and we’ve actually rescued over 600 bears now.

The liberated bears are well cared for at the two sites, one in Agra and one in Bangalore, by the local Wildlife SOS charity, which works in partnership with International Animal Rescue.

The dancing bear problem was the one that the people who’d actually been dancing the bears, had been doing that for over 300 years, and they’re the Kalandar tribespeople, and basically we had to come up with a solution to the problem which included them and the bears, and of course the government. So we had to get a plan together that would actually answer all of the problems.

The organization created a program where an individual that kept a bear was given 50,000 rupees, equivalent to just over US$1,000, to start an alternative business, thus allowing their family to live better, brighter lives. Participants agreed to never keep a bear again and were retrained to work at the sanctuaries with bears or in other life-affirming careers. In return, the bear was given to International Animal Rescue for rehabilitation and care.

So, what happens now is that the bears are looked after, in many cases by the Kalandars that used to actually dance them. They’re actually working with the bears still, inside our sanctuaries, and we have a commitment to those bears for the rest of their lives.

Learning the joyful news of the freeing of hundreds of bears in India through their program, Supreme Master Ching Hai presented International Animal Rescue with the Shining World Compassion Award for its dedication to saving lives, inspiring others and setting a noble example for the world to follow as well as contributed US$10,000 to the organization to support their wonderful mission of love. On behalf of Supreme Master Ching Hai, our UK Association members presented the Award to Mr. Knight. The following is an excerpt from Master’s heartfelt letter to the organization.

Words cannot express our admiration for your sacrificing and gallant work, sparing the graceful bears from unimaginable pain and suffering and providing for the futures of the trainers with care, dignity and respect. May Heaven bless you greatly for your inspirational example of love in action.

For your unlimited empathy and vision, for your perseverance, courage and benevolence, and for your invaluable contribution to increasing the store of loving kindness in our world, we hereby applaud and celebrate the great, compassionate deeds of International Animal Rescue, its chief executive Mr. Alan Knight, OBE and its noble-hearted friends and supporters. With Great Honour, Love and Blessings, Supreme Master Ching Hai.

Lovely, thank you very much indeed and I’d like to accept this award on, not only on behalf of International Animal Rescue, but also for the 600 bears that we’ve managed to actually rescue. So, and the wonderful check that you’ve given us will actually go towards looking after those bears for the future.

I’d like to really thank the Supreme Master Ching Hai for thinking of us and actually noticing the campaign, and singling us out as an organization that She felt worthy of accepting this award. We’re extremely pleased that you found that we are the sort of organization that you’d like to support, and we really will treasure this award, and obviously use the money that’s been donated with it to look after the bears to a high level of luxury, something which I think they really deserve now. So thank you so much.

We also express our immense gratitude to the noble members of International Animal Rescue and their partner organizations worldwide for their selfless devotion and benevolent aid to suffering animals in India and elsewhere. Their altruism truly uplifts us all.

For more details on International Animal Rescue, please visit

Gentle viewers, thank you for joining us on today’s edition of the Shining World Award series. Coming up next is Enlightening Entertainment after Noteworthy News. May we all strive to achieve a more compassionate world.