OMG - This is so sweet!

My parents nominated me for the purple paw award from my local humane society. My mom was crying this afternoon because I didn't get chosen for an award (they are giving out five and twelve people & animals were nominated) and she felt that I do a lot more than some of the winners. I just cried and cried this afternoon when she read me the nomination that she and my dad wrote. Here it is ...



"Sarah is directly responsible for exciting improvements at LCHS which directly benefit the animals in our programs.

Benefits to the Humane Society
Her animal photography is a valuable tool to LCHS. Her photos are all over the LCHS website and publications. It helps draw people to our website and keep them coming. As quoted by Diana ******, Board Member and Paw Prints Calendar Chair – “Sarah’s photos are outstanding! She really has a knack for capturing the soul of the subject, I love her work!”


When she worked at a veterinary hospital, she would spend part of her paycheck on the animals and homeless animals there and buy them blankets, toys, anything to make their situation better and more comfortable. She anticipated Market Days each year to purchase a special blanket for the vet’s cat that had a serious skin condition and stayed at the hospital.

She is fostering 3 of the 9 abandoned motel puppies that were brought to LCHS Sept 11 hungry and having not eaten in two days. The puppies were 2½ weeks old and their ears were still closed. The puppies cried as they tried to “eat” from a bottle. Sarah wasted no time for these screaming hungry puppies and contacted our neighbor Debra ****** who has a Labrador Retriever named Angel who was due to have a litter of puppies in the next week. Sarah asked Debra if she would allow the puppies to nurse from Angel. Angel gladly let these starving little puppies nurse from her! The puppies slept well that night, with their little bellies full! (Have photos of the puppies nursing). Sarah delivered Angel’s puppies that Saturday. This was first time she has delivered puppies, but you would have thought she had delivered many litters of puppies.

When she’s not physically involved in doing something for her dogs or other animals, she’s feverishly researching anything and everything she can on dogs on the internet. She is responsible for our dog family increasing from 1 to 4 in one year! She is responsible for their care, any doctor visits, training, and their nutrition. Her love and dedication is contagious. She is a true dog geek!



#5
Sarah has been a true leader and hero for the animals. While balancing her senior year of school and her job, Sarah finds time to volunteer at local animal activities; involve some of her own four dogs in training classes; and foster weeks old kittens and puppies for LCHS.

While most other young people would be begging their parents to help - or let them get out of some of their many obligations, Sarah cheerfully rises multiple times during the night to feed growing pups and tend to both their physical and emotional needs.


#6
Her amazing animal photography is a valuable tool to LCHS. As quoted by Diana ******, LCHS Board Member and Paw Prints Calendar Chair – “Sarah’s photos are outstanding! She really has a knack for capturing the soul of the subject, I love her work!”

In late April 2006, LCHS was using Petfinder.com to list some of our animals and averaged 50-75 pet views per day. The last week in April 2006 Sarah worked diligently uploading listings of all LCHS pets to Petfinder.com. Pet views increased 260% over the next two weeks! Because of her efforts LCHS integrated the Petfinder.com Pet Scroller on our website May 12. This is an awesome tool that allows our website visitors to view our adoptable pets listed on Petfinder.com directly on our website. Pet views have averaged as high as 500 per day, the daily average for all 10,000 pet shelters using Petfinder is around 150 per day. She also updates photos of LCHS pets she’s taken to Petfinder on her own time.

She is responsible for LCHS having a functional website.
In June 2005 our website unfortunately was virtually useless and had not been functional for many months. Sarah fixed the website and gave it a new look in time for Florida Humane Society Appreciation Week. She put in over 150 volunteer hours that summer fixing and maintaining the LCHS website. With her demanding work schedule and the start of school she was not able to maintain it. A group had said they would take over managing the site and control was turned over, but the group never did anything. Sarah was able to “train” me (her mom) how to do basic website management and continues to be involved in helping with the website. I’d never have taken on the management of the LCHS website with out having Sarah at my side.


#7
Her commitment toward - and love of - animals is evident in the thousands of photographs she takes – many of which have been featured on the LCHS website and publications. She can establish a true bond with the animals and they trust her lens to be the window to their soul – and your heart."





My parents are good at making me feel special through things they tell people and write about me. I never feel like I do enough, and they always think I do more than enough. I have just had this wonderful heartwarming feeling all day ... who cares if I didn't win!

Your parents are great Sarah, I think you should keep them! And keep up the good work girl! :)

That is so cool!! You are a very special person!! :) Your parents are pretty special too :D

Sarah that is just beautiful, what wonderful supportive parents you have :D. It got me all teary eyed just reading it, very heartwarming. Keep up the great work.

All I can say is WOW!!!! What a wonderful honor. Your parents sound great. And YOU are so deserving of the award. It's an honor to know you!

Awww! That's so incredibly sweet of your parents, Sarah!

Sarah, I want to cry sitting here reading what your parents wrote to you. They love you so much, and are so proud of you and you can clearly see that in the nomination. I guess more than anything I wish my parents would have done something like that for me. You are so lucky and so blessed and absolutely right - who cares if you didn't win because I'm sure if they could your parents would give you 500 of those awards and then some. *hugs* :)

Oooh also, you really are an inspiration to me (believe it or not!) because I do want to get involved somehow, though right now the time just isn't right... only having one car and a fiance that works anywhere from 10 - 16 hours a day kind of makes it a little difficult :( But eventually I do, I really want to help and make a difference. If not only because it is something that I really feel drawn to do. I am going to become a vet tech and eventually a vet and opening my own boarding place though (that is years down the line though LOL). Hey you can come work with me when I open it :D

Thanks for the compliments everyone :D Y'all are too sweet!

Bravo! bravo! What a marvelous letter from your parents! You are definitely the Winner in their eyes! Your work with and for animals is amazing! Maybe some people don't notice, but every animal's life you touch sure does, along with the people who love you most!

That's a very nice gesture- what nice things they have to say about you! I'm glad you're proud even if you didn't win, you deserve to be! :)

heck, who cares but what your sweet parents wrote, you should be one who get that award! those dang people.. :p

well, as far as we know, we salute you! :D really, you did a lot and taught us a lot (especially about raw food) on this site too.

way to go, sarah! (((an award hug))) :cool: