PEOPLE Pets | Sit. Stay. Play!

Happy National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week! This week, Nov. 1-7, is the time to show our local rescues and shelters how much we appreciate the work they do. We've teamed up with Romeo the Cat and Big Paw Designs to recognize animals and the people who are making a difference in their community.

With days running out, it's important to thank all the readers who submitted their acts of kindness to Romeo — as well as the countless others who volunteer their time and affection for shelter pets every day!

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It was a night where even the pets got to dress up: On the green carpet of artificial grass at the North Shore Animal League's 4th Annual DogCatemy Celebrity Gala, Martha Stewart's French bulldogs Francesca and Sharkey arrived decked out in black and white striped T-shirts alongside Mom.

"We love attending events like this to raise money for a good cause," Stewart told guests at the New York City fund-raiser and pet awards show, modeled after Hollywood's glitzy Academy Awards and held in the airy dining room at Cipriani, a chic Italian restaurant on Wall Street.

"It's a lot of fun," radio personality Howard Stern told PEOPLEPets.com. "It's a great event." Stern escorted his wife, Beth Ostrosky Stern, a longtime animal lover and spokesperson for the North Shore Animal League (NSAL), the largest no-kill animal shelter in the world. But where was Bianca, their 8-year-old bulldog? "She's at home, and her full name is Bianca Romijn Stamos O'Connell," Stern joked.

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When Maj. Brian Dennis led an 11-man U.S. Marine counterinsurgency force through Iraq, the last thing he thought he'd find was a friend. But one four-legged furball was just too determined to give up on companionship. Dennis met Nubs — a wild mixed-breed pup who earned his nickname due to his cruelly clipped ears — in October 2007. The two shared a plate of spaghetti and a tummy rub, and parted ways. But the persistent pup had other plans.

Over the next four months, the dog would surprise Dennis, 38, and his team by showing up each time they returned to their base. Though interacting with wild animals was prohibited by military rules, it was hard to resist the cute pooch. "There was something endearing about him," Dennis tells PEOPLE.

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Happy National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week! This week, Nov. 1-7, is the time to show our local rescues and shelters how much we appreciate the work they do. We've teamed up with Romeo the Cat and Big Paw Designs to recognize animals and their people who are making a difference in their community.

The talented Jessi Sensabaugh of Lynchburg, Va., is hand-knitting soft comfy pet beds for A Place to Bark animal rescue in Portland, Tenn. Sensabaugh, who is cat mom to Kitty (above) and Tripsie, says she plans to send along food and other supplies as well.

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For every pet living with a happy family, there is an animal in a shelter waiting to find a loving home. So today, in honor of Adopt a Senior Pet month, we'd like you to meet Marvin, a loving 9-year-old tuxedo cat living at the Friends for the Dearborn Animal Shelter in Dearborn, Mich.

Marvin arrived at the shelter on June 5, after he was rescued out of a hoarding situation. Though he's missing his left eye, he's forever in good spirits, cuddling up and perusing books and television shows with shelter volunteers. "He is a very distinguished older man," says shelter manager Heather Mehi. "He's looking for a home where he'll be the center of someone's life." The little guy easily gels with other cats, and is neutered, up to date on vaccines and microchipped.

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With the economy still on shaky ground, times are tough — particularly for pet owners. Shelters are overflowing, animals have been abandoned and the health of some pets has been neglected. Well, the ASPCA wants to help. Starting tomorrow, the organization is launching a "Cat Assistance Program" aimed at struggling kitty owners.

ASPCA volunteers will be stationed at shelters around the country, distributing 20,000 free product coupons for Fresh Step litter and 9Lives cat food, as well as hundreds of cat assistance kits containing a litter pan, litter scoop and cat toys, all for qualifying cat owners. For a complete schedule of distribution days and locations, click here.

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Happy National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week! This week, Nov. 1-7, is the time to show our local rescues and shelters how much we appreciate the work they do. We've teamed up with Romeo the Cat and Big Paw Designs to recognize animals and their people who are making a difference in their community.

Today's featured do-gooder is artist Patrice De Avila of Portland, Ore., who's mom to cats Bubba, Pinkerton and Loki. She's thinking "outside the cat box" and giving original artwork to the Harlequin Great Dane Rescue to sell or auction as a fund-raiser. Additionally, she's generously waiving the design and printing costs of business cards for her favorite cat rescue, Persian and Himalayan Cat Rescue.

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