©2009 NPT PHOTOS COURTESY OF DRURY OUTDOORS

Dakota Moore harvested this black bear that weighed
nearly 300 pounds during his dream hunt in northern Wisconsin
in September. Dakota, a 6th grader at Grassy Fork Elementary
School, also harvested a buck and a doe.

NEWPORT-It was a dream-come-true for 11-year-old Dakota Moore. Dakota had been invited on a hunt, a special hunt in Wisconsin.

Catch-A-Dream and the SHOT (Safe Hunters of Tomorrow) Program joined forces to create a magical hunting experience in late September for Dakota and Tanya Poppe. The whole event was filmed by Drury Outdoors.

Dakota, a sixth-grader at Grassy Fork Elementary School, was diagnosed last December with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Previously known as Hodgkin's disease, Hodgkin's lymphoma is a type of lymphoma, a type of cancer, which is characterized by the orderly spread of disease from one lymph node group to another. The disease occurrence shows two peaks: the first in young adulthood (age 15-35) and the second in those over 55 years old. The survival rate is generally 90% or higher when the disease is detected during early stages, making it one of the more curable forms of cancer.

Dakota underwent chemo therapy for six months and finished with his last radiation treatment (28 treatments in all) on August 14. Dakota's chemo treatments were done at Children's Hospital while radiation was done at Thompson Cancer Center, both in Knoxville. Dakota had to stay in the hospital for three days at a time for each chemo treatment.

About three weeks later, Dakota went in for some tests and scans. A little later, Dakota's doctor called his father, Steve Moore, with great news, that the chemo therapy had been successful and Dakota had beaten the cancer.

"Everyone cried," said Steve. "Dakota jumped about three feet in the air. Grassy Fork Elementary Principal Dr. Shannon Grooms made the announcement in the school's cafeteria, and the children literally jumped on top of the tables."

While undergoing treatment in Knoxville, Dakota's family learned of the Catch-A-Dream Foundation. Only two hunters are chosen per year for their special hunt. Dakota's family entered his name for the hunt, and were notified in August that he had been selected and awarded a bear tag and two whitetail tags for either sex, thanks to Wisconsin DNR Warden, Jeremy Peery, who along with Rick Nash and many of the local hunters, formed the SHOT (Safe Hunters of Tomorrow) Program.

"Initially, we put in for the elk hunt," explained Steve. "But, Dakota had to be 12-years-old to do that. He was offered the choice of waiting until he turned 12 or going now."

Dakota left Knoxville on September 23 by plane, his first time on a plane. He flew to Chicago, and then on to Green Bay, Wisconsin where he was met by his guide, Kurt Drexler. Drexler took everyone to Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, where they watched a practice, and afterward, toured the Packers Hall of Fame. Later that evening, the group met with Bill Rands, owner of the property where the hunt would take place.

The following day, Dakota's group met up with the other hunts other participant, Tanya Poppe of Wisconsin, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor. During surgery, Tonya suffered a stroke.

Dakota and Tanya met with Wisconsin wildlife officials to receive their kill tags and shirts for the hunt. Everyone then drove three-and-a-half hours to the far northern part of the state near the Minnesota state line to Lady Smith, Wisconsin where Bill Rand's camp was located. Late that afternoon, both Dakota and Tanya got into a blind to start the hunt. They spotted several does and a four-point buck, but were unable to harvest an animal. That night, the duo hooked up with Eric and Shaun, the two Drury Outdoors cameramen that would be filming their hunt.

The next day would be one to remember for both young hunters. Dakota left before daylight, and early on, harvested a doe. While field dressing the doe, someone told them that a bear had been spotted and had gone up a tree. Dakota couldn't get a shot, but the bear was on the move into a 500-acre cornfield. Along with a game warden, Dakota crawled to within eight feet and harvested the bear, which weighed between 250-300 pounds. Just a few hours later, Dakota harvested a 200-pound, eight-point, buck just as it was turning dark. It was the first time a hunter had harvested a buck, a doe and a bear in one day.

Dakota's partner, Tanya, found success as well, harvesting a 10-point buck using a custom-made gun. Because Tanya was not able to actually pull the trigger, the rifle was modified with a sip and puff trigger mechanism so that Tanya could activate the trigger. The rifle was mounted to a tri-pod and modified with a 7 inch LCD screen mounted above the scope.

The three-day hunt ended on Saturday, September 26, with a ceremony for Dakota and Tanya, who were both presented with plaques as life-long members of Catch-A-Dream. Dakota also received a special camo-Bible.

Drury Outdoors officials said it was truly rewarding to see so many volunteers come together to help Tanya and Dakota have a hunt of a lifetime. It was truly magical! They also sent out a big thank you to Curt Drexler with Catch-A-Dream for being the Catch-A-Dream host, and Sean Graese for all is help filming the hunt.

Dakota has also been chosen to participate in The Dream Connection. The Dream Connection, Inc. is a non-profit organization. Its goal is to accept and raise charitable contributions exclusively for fulfilling the "once-in-a-lifetime dream come true" of children between the ages of three and eighteen, with life-threatening or chronically debilitating illnesses in the East Tennessee community.

In the meantime, Dakota is back in school full time. He is also back on the Ravens' basketball team. He still has to be checked by doctors every three months, but everything is back to normal for the sixth grader, who will always remember his dream hunt.

(Editor's Note: For more information on Drury Outdoors, visit their web site at www.druryoutdoors.com. For more information on Catch-A-Dream, visit their web site at http://catchadream.org.)