Defenseman Tyson Strachan has been nominated for the a national sports philanthropy award for his work with abandoned dogs -- most notably with the 100+ Abandoned Dogs of the Everglades in South Florida.

Strachan and his girlfriend Kate have adopted a pair of rescue dogs -- Soder, a pure-bred Italian Mastiff, and Raja, a mix Mike Santorelli said looks like a hyena -- and spend plenty of time at the 100+ offices helping with the dogs rescued from the Everglades.

"I think we can create something great here,'' said Strachan, who is up for the national humanitarian award from All Sports United. "These are great dogs who have been through a lot. They just want a nice home."

Strachan and his girlfriend didn't adopt their two dogs in South Florida, but rescued them when he played in St. Louis. Strachan has helped foster rescue puppies found in the Everglades in differing states of duress.

"Missouri is really bad when it comes to abandoned dogs, so we were really active there,'' Strachan said, adding that Blues' center David Backes does a lot of work with dogs in St. Louis. "It's nice that with what I do that I'm able to promote some awareness for this in our area.''

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