Below is an email I received from a very dear friend, Nena Moon. Nena and her dog, Ellie, are part of the Hand in Paw group that helped Taylor through radiation and many other areas of his treatment. We met Nena and Ellie back in 2003 at the radiation center. Ellie was there to wake Taylor from his anestesia every day and then he walked Ellie out the door. It was a great comfort to him and he looked forward to it everyday. Nena was a comfort to me and became more than the lady at the the clinic with a dog. She became a true friend whom I still keep in touch with. She is my spy at camp:) She keeps us in her prayers and we love her dearly. Pleae read the following email and vote for Nena and Ellie. Thank you! Our update is below the email!
I am Nena Moon and together with my pet partner, Ellie, we have served for almost 6 1/2 years with the Hand-in-Paw organization. HIP is under the umbrella of Delta Society, the national organization of pet partners and animals doing animal assisted therapy. We are among five finalists for a national award called Beyond Limits to be given by Delta Society to a pet partner team who is making a difference in the lives of those they serve.
We serve at many different facilities but my heart is drawn to working with children and adults who are receiving radiation treatments for cancer. I have found having a furry friend beside them as they wait for their treatment is time well spent with patients and their families. The staff appreciates the diversion of a visit as they deal with difficult situations during the day.
In the years of serving with HIP, we have had personal contact with 18,195 people.
I had no idea the number was so high but HIP does track each visit we make and they record the numbers.
When Delta Society came to video us on a visit to the University of Alabama Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, they told me the award would be given to the team who receives the most votes from the public. I was also told not to be shy in asking friends to pass along all this information to their friends and asking them to do the same thing. So I would be grateful if you passed this along to your email friends.
If you will go to www.deltasociety.org , you can see the videos and cast your vote. You can vote one time each week during the three weeks it will be online. Voting begins on Sunday, January 18th. Just follow the links to the Beyond Limits Award. You can also read a summary of each nominees by clicking on the appropriate link. More information is given in box below.
I appreciate any and all of you who will help us win this award. I have an amazing pet and she is certainly deserving of receiving this recognition.
Blessings,
Nena Moon and Ellie
TGIF! I was off today for a Dr’s appointment. I got done much earlier than expected, but Logan really wanted Guh to pick him up, so she did. We went out to lunch and then we went to get Taylor. Taylor was pretty excited to have Guh pick him up too. We came home and I think the boys showed Guh every wii and Play station game we have.
It got a little heated! Logan was beating Taylor in Little League baseball 13-0 with 10 homeruns and Taylor was furious!!! This is why he has opted not to play real ball this year. He works very hard and he is a good ball player, but he is not at the level of some of his team mates and it really upsets him. I really want him to play. I did not play sports and have come to regrest it now and I don’t want him to do that, but at the same time, I can see where he is upset about it and will not force him. I think we may give soccer a try and he is still very interested in fall ball where it is less stressful. That is fine with us!
We went to the funeral home this evening. It was a tough thing to do. Please keep the Nunnally family in your prayers. We love you guys!
Hi Kim,
I was excited to see you had posted the note about voting for the award. To be in the final five nominees out of literally hundreds of nominations is quite an honor. But I think Ellie deserves it.
It will take everyone sending the information along to all their friends at school, work, etc. for us to possibly make it to the top.
The winner/dog will be flown to NY and presented the award at the National Dog Show. That would be a fun trip…can’t you just seeing Ellie on the airplane?
Glad your guys are having so much fun. Let Taylor try soccer… size doesn’t matter and I bet he has the speed to run fast. Playing soccer from 5 yrs on, put our son through B’ham Southern College on a soccer scholarship.
Again thanks for your help in getting the word out to as many folks as possible. Just remind them to vote each week.
Giving thanks for Taylor’s continued good health.
Hugs and blessings to all,
Ms. Nena (Hand-In-Paw)