Right now, animal shelters all across our beautiful country are experiencing a crisis. There are continuously more strays and surrenders in need of care than they have room to comfortably accommodate. There are simply more dogs than adopters.
So when some first graders found out that the current lack of space was affecting their local Texas shelter, they did what came naturally to lend a helping hand – they broke out their crayons!
Smile-inducing sweetness is practically second nature to a child. So when the Austin Animal Center made it known to the public that they desperately needed help making space in their shelter, long-time dog lover, volunteer foster mom, and first-grade teacher, Dr. Victoria Zolli, felt inspired to share this with her students. Naturally, they were all extremely excited to help.
So, drawing inspiration from a teacher she heard about on the radio, Dr. Zolli helped her class create kennel cards to entice prospective dog parents to adopt or foster one of their long-stay pooches.
Her creative class wrote from the perspective of the dogs, and using their newly acquired persuasive writing skills, they combined characteristics from the pictures and short bios provided by the shelter.
The kennel cards turned out to be colorfully eye-catching, and the kids’ clever, candid writing was incredibly enticing. Hung above the kennels of the adoptable dog they described, the cards have delighted everyone lucky enough to lay their eyes upon them.
Their amusing childhood candor, combined with the apparent love shown for these sweet pups, made for an extremely endearing endeavor.
It would be incredibly hard to walk away from a kennel with one of these cards above it without giving the pup a second look or even a meet and greet – which is exactly what these students, and their teacher, had in mind.
Sometimes, the dogs that have languished in shelters the longest can find their forever homes after spending some time in the spotlight. These pups have been overlooked long enough. The adorable kennel cards are giving them the attention they so rightfully deserve, which increases the odds that they will finally find forever homes!
Great job, first graders from Chaparral Star Academy, and thanks for caring so much about the fantastic dogs waiting to be adopted at your local shelter.
You can check out these long-stay dogs and all the other adoptable pups at the Austin Animal Center by clicking HERE.
Featured Image: Facebook
Toledo, United States.
