Members of the State Bar of Michigan Animal Law Section presented the Brandi Award Certificate to Jackson County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Katie Branigan Hawkins on Mar. 29. The ALS established the award in 2000 to recognize a person in the legal or legislative professions who does something remarkable for animals. The award was first presented to Hon. Kaye Tertzag, a Wayne County Circuit Court judge who ruled that a case seeking non-economic damages in the death of Brandi, a companion dog, should proceed. Branigan Hawkins, who formed an Animal Anticruelty Task Force with Dr. Cathy Anderson, shelter veterinarian for Jackson County Animal Control, has personally taken cruelty and neglect cases arising from Jackson County Animal Control and empowered the shelter to pursue charges on felony and misdemeanor cases. Branigan Hawkins chose Friends of the Animals for the Jackson Area, Inc. to receive her $250 honorarium. Pictured (l-r): Chair-Elect Allie Phillips; Branigan Hawkins; Bee Friedlander, Section awards committee member; and Donald Garlit, Section council member.
Photo courtesy of Cathy Anderson
