With a little help from his dad and some gracious donors online, 9-year-old Ken from the Philippines is finally fulfilling a dream he's had since way back when he was 8 years old – to help run a no-kill dog shelter of his very own.
Ken's mission is simple and straight-forward: “The official at the pound said most dogs are put down because only 20-30% of owners claim their dogs, and no animal welfare organization is doing something about it. I want to save as many of those dogs as I can from being killed for no reason.”
Although Ken has wanted to shelter stray dogs for a while, the ball really began rolling after he posted pictures online of himself feeding stray dogs in February of this year. After the photos went viral, strangers from all over the world expressed their support for him and decided to help him achieve his dream. Now, with some help from his dad and other concerned locals, he is helping stray dogs on the street recover from their many diseases and illnesses and hopefully find a loving home.
“My dad told me it would take a lot of money and 20 years for me to get an animal shelter. He said only grown ups can raise enough money to start an animal shelter,” Ken explains on his website. “Some very kind people who saw these pictures donated money to help me care for the dogs. We got enough money to get the dogs I was feeding off the street, feed them high quality canned food, and provide them with veterinary care. They gained a LOT of weight, their open wounds healed, and their fur grew back. They also learned not to be scared of humans.”
To donate to Ken's shelter, Happy Animals Club, click here.
Source: happyanimalsclub.org (via: huffpost)
"Ever since I can remember I wanted to open an animal shelter to help the stray dogs and cats on the streets," - Ken
"Some very kind people who saw these pictures donated money to help me care for the dogs"
"We went to a park where I play soccer. The dogs were so happy they ran around and chased each other and drank a lot of water. I think it was their first time in a wide open place because at first they were scared to walk on the grass"
White Puppy, along with the other dogs, suffered from mange. Ken gave them all a bath with special medicated soap, and now they're doing better.
"Happy Animals Club is autonomous and independently managed by me with help from volunteers (currently my dad, he complains that he is an 'involunteer')"
"My father asked his friends and both he and his friends turned our garage into a small pet shelter for white puppy and his family to stay for the mean time. Our small animal shelter has a wall to keep our own dogs from getting mange from white puppy and his family."
"I got enough money to start an animal shelter. On May 1, 2014, I leased a 10,000 sq. ft. lot for one year. It cost $1,500. I don't have enough money yet to populate the shelter with dogs but hopefully I can do that soon."
