It was the only Mickey Mouse cartoon to win an Academy Award.
This Oscar-winning short was dedicated to a non-profit organization known as the "Tailwagger Foundation".
This short was included in both the Oliver & Company (1988) 20th Anniversary Edition DVD and The Fox and the Hound (1981) 25th Anniversary Edition DVD.
"Lend a Paw" from 1941 won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Subject/Cartoon of 1941. As of it's release it is the only Mickey Mouse Cartoon, as well as Cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse to have won that Award.
"Lend a Paw" from 1941 is the Devil Pluto's third and final appearance in a Mickey Mouse and Disney Cartoon. His first appearance is the Original Mickey Mouse Cartoon "Mickey's Pal Pluto (1933)" from 1933, of which "Lend a Paw" is a re-imagined color remake. His second appearance is in the 1936 Mickey Mouse Cartoon "Mickey's Elephant (1936)", which is also his first color appearance. Unlike the Angel Pluto, the Devil Pluto's character design stayed consistent. Thus "Lend a Paw" is also his second color appearance.