NATCHEZ &8212; The Humane Society of the United States has honored state Sen. Bob M. Dearing of Natchez for his legislative work on animal protection.

Dearing received a plaque and a letter of thanks from the organization as part of the &8220;Humane State Legislator Award&8221; for 2006. He was one of about a dozen in the country to win the award, he said.

&8220;Any time you get an award by a national group, especially with the stature of the Humane Society, it&8217;s an honor,&8221; Dearing said.

&8220;But you don&8217;t introduce legislation or try to pass legislation for any recognition you may get; you do it because you think it&8217;s the right thing to do,&8221; he said.

The honor comes from Dearing&8217;s persistence in introducing three years in a row legislation to change the state law on cruelty to animals to include cats and to make hog-dog fighting illegal.

&8220;Annette Byrne made me aware of the omission in the statute,&8221; Dearing said. &8220;People (who had committed cruel acts against cats) kept being turned loose by the courts.&8221;

The first year he introduced the legislation, &8220;everybody laughed,&8221; he said. &8220;But then Annette went to work.&8221;

Her lobbying among legislators won more support each year. &8220;When the House didn&8217;t take up the bill last year, she lobbied Speaker Billy McCoy at the Christmas parade in Bude. He promised the House would pass it the next year.&8221;

The Humane Society of the United States thanked Dearing &8220;on behalf of the over 45,000 members and supporters of the Humane Society in Mississippi&8221; and said the people of Mississippi care about &8220;the protection of animals and effective laws to address issues pertaining to animals.&8221;

Dearing said the bill simply added the word cats to the statute, making the law read that anyone who commits cruelty against dogs or cats will be subject to a fine of up to $1,000 or time in jail. The new statute also outlaws hog-dog fighting.

Dearing has represented Natchez and the surrounding area in the Senate since 1980.