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AT : Can you tell us
about the different
organizations?
AR: I volunteer at Wags and
Walks, Forte Animal Rescue and
Kitty Bungalow. Since I’m under
15, some of them require a parent
be with me so my mom and
brother come, too.
AT : What kind of work
do you do with each
organization?
AR: At Wags and Walks, I walk
the dogs and play with them. I
also donate food and toys, and
make dog treats for them. Forte
has a special junior volunteer
program for kids and teens. They
do a lot of events that I volunteer
at, like their Dog Days of Summer
doggy wash and bake sale. I
brought homemade treats and
bathed dogs. For Kitty Bungalow,
I actually set up adoption events
at the parks and then invite them
to bring kittens.
AT : Wow, you set up your
own adoption events! Tell
us more about that.
AR: I do them in the park when
another event is going on, like the
Spring Fling, so lots of families
will already be there. Before
the event, I make adoption kits,
which include treats, dry and
wet food, homemade and store-
bought toys and more. During the
event, I try to get people to adopt
kittens and cats.
AT : How do you encourage
people to adopt?
AR: I tell them that they get a free
adoption kit with everything you
need for your new cat or kitten.
I let people play and spend time
with the cats so they can see their
personalities. I also hand out Kitty
Bungalow brochures to people who
aren’t ready to adopt yet but might
consider it later.
AT : Do you have any plans
for dog adoption events in
the future?
AR: Yes! I’m including dogs for the
first time at my next park adoption
event. I asked Forte to partner
with me, and they’ll bring their
adoptable dogs for my next event.
In the future, I want to make these
events even bigger. The first time I
did an adoption event, I did it in one
park and just brought cats. Now,
we’ll be in three different parks and
we’re adding dog adoptions. I want
to add more parks, more rescue
groups and save more pets!
AT: Are your friends
supportive of your
volunteer work?
AR: Yes, they will help me out
at adoption events! Actually,
my whole 5th grade class
helped me with my volunteering
work last year. For our class
service project, I went to all
the 5th grade classes and did
a presentation on Wags and
Walks — this was back when
they were new to the area. I
talked about how we coulddonate used blankets, dog food
and toys, then I organized a day
for two other volunteers to bring
in an adoptable dog for everyone
to pet and talk about volunteer
opportunities. I put a basket out in
front of each of the classrooms to
collect the donations. We collected
32 towels, 22 cans of dog food,
seven sheets, two blankets, two
leashes and two collars!
AT : You’ve done so many
amazing things. Do you
hope to inspire others to
follow your lead?
AR: Yes, I hope it will inspire other
kids to do something like this to
help save pets. Every pet that gets
adopted is living a better life than
it would have had in the shelter.
There is no better feeling than
knowing that a pet that was in the
shelter is now in a happy home.Are you an animal advocate?
We’d love to hear from you! Send your story to Animal Tales, Animal Advocate,
4 New York Plaza, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10004 or email [email protected].Here’s Ariela with her
adopted dogs, Millie and
Chase. “I also have a cat,
a hamster, a turtle and a
lot of fish,” she smiles.