ohmidog!

Roselle, a dog who guided her blind owner down 78 flights of stairs at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, was named American Hero Dog of 2011 at the inaugural American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards.

The honor was bestowed posthumously in Beverly Hills Saturday night.

Roselle, a Labrador retriever, died June 26, after the nominations were announced.

More than 450 dogs were nominated for the American Humane Association honor. Eight finalists were chosen in online voting. More than 400,000 votes were cast.

The winner was picked by a panel that included Betty White, Whoopi Goldberg, Kristen Chenoweth and Mark Hamill.

In Roselle’s honor, a $10,000 donation will be made to Guide Dogs to the Blind.

“From the outset, Roselle guided and did her job perfectly,” Hingson wrote in nominating Roselle.

“While others in my office saw fire above us, Roselle did not panic. Because of Roselle’s calm demeanor, I knew we could evacuate in an orderly manner. She remained focused as we went to the stairwell and traveled down 1,463 stairs to the first floor. Her poise helped me remain calm as we led others down to safety.”

Once outside, Hingson wrote, “Roselle remained totally focused on her job as we ran. When debris fell around us, and even hit us, Roselle stayed calm. Because of her poise, we found an entrance to the subway system where we could go underground away from the heavy dust cloud.”

Roselle’s heroics are recounted in the new book, “Thunder Dog, The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero.”

The other seven finalists were Bino, who served with the 35th Military Police Detachment at Fort Gordon in Augusta; Harley, a hearing dog from Fountain Hills, Ariz.; Ricochet, the surfing dog from Escondido, Calif., who helps special needs children and people with disabilities; Sadie, a Labrador retriever from Westminster, Colo., who works as an accelerant detection dog for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation; Sage, a search and rescue dog from Hagerman, N.M., who detected the remains of a terrorist in the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon; Stacey Mae, a therapy dog from Guffey, Colo. who has helped collect thousands of Teddy bears from around the world for hospitalized children; and Zurich, a service dog in Des Plaines, Ill.

The runners-up each won $5,000 to be donated to one of the American Humane Association’s charity partners.

The ceremony will be shown Nov. 11 on the Hallmark Channel.