Welcome!

Welcome to the Lend A Paw Blog!
Where you can find up to date information about the program, current LAP teams and LAP therapy dogs candidates, scheduled visits, and much more.
Lend A Paw is committed to enhancing the lives of individuals experiencing physical, mental, emotional or life challenges by providing therapy dogs to offer warmth, compassion, unconditional love and a healing environment. The program is designed to rescue dogs from the shelter and train them to be therapy dogs. Individuals are also invited to join our LAP team with their own dogs provided the dogs have the required obedience and temperament for therapy work.

Monday, July 18, 2011

A Birthday Celebration

     Last Wednesday, July 13th, the staff and students of New Horizons took part in a very special celebration. One of our Lend A Paw dogs, Ash, turned 2 years old, and everyone was invited to the party!
Lisa and the birthday boy, Ash!
      The celebration took place during one of the Lend A Paw monthly visits to the center. Lisa, Ash's owner and handler, went above and beyond the call of duty and made this visit a very special one. With the help of Audrey and Donna and Belle and Terry, as well as Ash's Grandma, AKA Lisa's boss, Sandra, she decorated the lunch area. There were over 120 party hats, goodie bags filled with silly toys, party horns, scarves, crazy silly glasses and candy, coloring books and of course, a big cake!
Over 120 hats and goodie bags were distributed!
      There was also a very large birthday card that participants could sign and decorate. According to Lisa, "the Birthday Card was a big hit! I just tried to count how many people signed it: it's like more than a hundred!" The Lend A Paw teams walked around handing out hats and goodie bags. Within half an hour, they were all gone. Which was perfect since it was time to sing "Happy Birthday!"Everyone gathered around to sing. Then Donna, Audrey's owner and handler, started cutting the cake (a white cake with strawberry mousse filling.) Yum! Everyone lined up to wait for the cake and pretty soon, 3 teachers came over to help cut and distribute slices of cake.
The "birthday card" was a big hit!
The cake: white cake with strawberry mousse filling. Yum!
      Terry, Belle's owner and handler, and Sandra, handed out a special coloring page of the Lend A Paw dogs who visit New Horizons (made by Isabella Koelman) for a coloring contest. The most artistic coloring will get a prize in August!
Belle and owner/handler Terry handed out a special coloring page.
The coloring page made by Isabella Koelman.
Audrey also helped with the hats and goodie bags!
     "I think everyone had a great time," says Lisa. "The kids were so excited; a birthday party for a dog! Who knew something so simple could make so many people smile?!"

Story by Nathalie Seguin and Lisa Erving, photos by Donna Beirne

Posted by Nathalie Seguin at 12:02 PM
Labels: , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)