Meet Elle the Pit Bull, 2013's 'American Hero Dog'

We all think of our pups as top dog, but one sweet, brown pit bull just won that title for real. Elle, a therapy dog from North Carolina, has been named the 2013 American Hero Dog by the American Humane Association.

“The American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards were created to honor some of the most extraordinary heroes the world has ever known, the very best of our ‘best friends’—ordinary dogs who do extraordinary things,” said Dr. Robin Ganzert, President and CEO of American Humane Association, in a statement.

Elle and her owner, Leah Brewer, works with students at Vaughan Elementary School and Chaloner Middle School in North Carolina. The pair started a reading program, "Tail Wagging Tales," during which pupils take turns reading out loud to Elle for 20 minutes. “She provides confidence for students and a comforting ear,” Brewer told NBC News.

Elle also helps teaches children about the safest ways to interact with dogs and makes visits to a retirement home. The pooch took the top title after more than a million Americans and several celebrity judges (including Kristin Chenoweth and Miranda Lambert) voted between 141 nominated dogs. She wins a $6,500 donation for her favorite charity, Hand in Paw.

The AHA is hopeful that Elle's win will help change the pit bull's bad reputation—the breed is banned in many areas across the U.S. like Miami and Denver. "We hope that Elle’s story will help to underscore the many tremendously positive qualities of this breed," Ganzert said.

"Many people wrongly believe that pit bulls are aggressive toward people," Pam Reid of the ASPCA wrote in Parade in 2010. "Pit bulls were originally developed for fighting with other dogs—not people. In fact, there’s some evidence that pit bulls are actually less aggressive toward people than many other breeds."

Elle isn't the first pit bull who's helped children learn to read. In 2010, Parade reported on the rehabilitation of the pit bulls seized in April 2007 from Bad Newz Kennels, the Smithfield, Virginia dogfighting ring run by Michael Vick, then quarterback of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Jonny, one of the 51 rescued dogs, was adopted and trained to become a therapy dog in another kids' reading program.

Eight other canines who went "above and beyond the call of duty" became finalists at the Hero Dog Awards, which were presented at a ceremony in Los Angeles last weekend. They include: Cassidy, a three-legged rescue dog who visits rehabilitation centers in Midvale, Utah; Lola, a hearing guide dog for a deaf owner in Bellingham, Washington; K9 Lakota, a retired, but decorated police dog from Locust Grove, Georgia; and SD Bronx, a service dog who comforts his 14-year-old owner during seizures.