Digit with Kristin.
Ready for action.
Look at all those pink shirts on the bridge!
The view of downtown Nashville from the bridge.
Digit met a three-legged dog on the walk.
Digit, 3DPO’s therapy dog-in-training, went with 3DPO on a field trip in April with Dankmeyer staff members to the Adventist 5K Walk, Wheel, Run. That was Digit’s first experience at an event outside the Dankmeyer office, and when an opportunity came to accompany Kristin Boswell, Director of Patient Services and Billing, out of town, he jumped at the chance!
He said goodbye to 3DPO, put on his blanket and departed with Kristin and her husband Richard, to Nashville, TN. As part of their holiday, they were going to participate in a dog walk!
Before the big day, Kristin and Richard picked up their special event pink T shirts to wear. When they arrived at the event on July 8, 2017, Digit was quite surprised at what he saw! Over 1,000 people and dogs were ready to walk in the Inaugural MuttNation March, including Digit, Richard, & Kristin. It was all to raise awareness and join the fight to end animal homelessness, neglect, and cruelty.
It was a mile walk from Nissan Stadium (home of the Titans NFL team, yuk) across the Cumberland River into downtown Nashville, finishing at Hall of Fame Park. It was absolutely awesome to be a part of this walk. Kristin explained how important it was to her to raise awareness for an issue that plagues our nation and is too often pushed aside.
Miranda Lambert (a country singer Digit learned about on the flight over that Kristin likes), Miranda’s mom, and her MuttNation crew all participated in the walk. She did a pretty emotional speech at the end of the walk expressing how much it meant to have so many people care about homeless animals and their desire to promote awareness of these situations. Digit was so touched by her kind words, he couldn’t help but wag his tail (even though it doesn’t really move….it moved in spirit) along with all the other tails that were there.
But it didn't end there! Kristin and Richard also attended the County Music Association Festival that takes place every summer in Nashville. The MuttNation Foundation brought 60 dogs with them to the CMA Fest that were up for adoption throughout the four day festival. They had a booth set up in the exhibit hall where you could hold, pet, and play with the dogs. Needless to say, they visited this booth. Kristin, who has Beagles at home, sooooo much wanted a Beagle they had for adoption, but he got adopted quickly by someone else!
Ten dogs were adopted in the first HOUR! 42 dogs adopted in the first two days. 56 dogs adopted by 4pm Saturday and the last four adopted very quickly on Sunday! In four days, they adopted out all 60 dogs to people across America & Canada! How incredibly awesome!
It was a very fine vacation indeed, and Digit was happy for all of the dogs that went to their new homes from the event. Digit thought how lucky he was to have 3DPO, and all of his friends at Dankmeyer to be his pack. He was very happy that Kristin and Richard had invited him to this very educational event.
Here is a nice short story about the walk: http://www.nashcountrydaily.com/2017/06/12/miranda-lamberts-inaugural-muttnation-march-helps-60-shelter-dogs-find-new-homes/
Click on this link for more information about Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation. Also, MuttNation can be found on Facebook & Instagram. Instagram has a lot of pictures from the event, including the dogs and the wonderful families who adopted them.
You can read more about Kristin's work with animal rescue in our Community Blog.
The finish line!