Nancy Cardwell grooms a dog on Jan. 25, 2018 at Furry Friends in New Whiteland.
Daily Journal Archives
News from around Johnson County as reported on Feb. 1 in the pages of the Daily Journal and the Franklin Evening Star from the last 112 years.
On this day in 2018, one of the stories on the front page of the Daily Journal was about a woman helping cancer patients’ pets by grooming them.
Nancy Cardwell lost her siblings Allen and Dominique Firebaugh to cancer in the span of nine months in 2017. She wanted to honor her brothers’ memories, along with the community support they received during her brother’s health struggles, by grooming the pets of cancer patients at her New Whiteland business, Furry Friends.
“If there’s anything I can do to give back to the community, I will, because the community has been so wonderful throughout the last year with both my brothers being ill. I want to be able to help somebody,” Cardwell said.
She allowed pet owners who are being treated to cancer to board their animals and have them groomed for free. This was her way of honoring her brothers’ the best way she knew how.
“The pets usually get put on the back burner because of the emotions and everything that goes on when people have cancer,” Cardwell said. “Just watching my brothers deal with it, in their honor, if there’s one person I can help and alleviate at least some stress, that’s what I want to do.”
Indianapolis resident Jill Raufeisen was diagnosed with breast cancer the previous June. She had relatives in Franklin who took her animals to Furry Friends when she couldn’t.
“There have been times when I’ve been at the hospital and wasn’t even allowed to go home,” she said. “I live alone and these dogs are like my family, but with Nancy I don’t worry.
“It’s been a big weight lifted off of me. It’s remarkable what she’s doing for the cancer community.”
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Other memorable Johnson County stories from this day
1994
A Speedway High School coach was suspended for throwing a metal chair that hit a Franklin wrestler.
1984
A man whose suggestive phone message had caused consternation among parents whose children were calling his Indianapolis number, said he hadn’t solicited and didn’t want calls from children.
1974
Burglars broke into the Johnson County Courthouse but were unable to open two safes in the building.
