Last year, at 2:22 a.m. on Aug. 28, my sister, Kia, left to pick up my parents from the airport. On her way, she saw a lost puppy on the side of the road even though the sky was dark and all she could see were car lights. It walked around desperately searching for help.
The puppy looked like he was a Shiba Inu mixed with Corgi. His fur color was black, light brown and white. He had a red collar on with no name, and he was tiny. Kia pulled over, got out of the car and ran with a treat to the dog. She put a leash on him and took him into the car and dropped him off at our house. She asked me if I wanted to go to the dog pound with her, and I said, “Yes.”
After she picked up my parents, we went to the pound, and I was surprised the puppy wasn’t afraid. When we arrived, Kia opened the car door, and the dog jumped out. We walked him inside. One of the staff members took the dog to put in one of the kennels. Now, the dog looked scared. My sister and I started to feel bad.
We couldn’t afford to adopt it, so my sister said when she had enough money, she planned to do so. A couple months later we went back to the pound to discover he wasn’t there. We were happy someone adopted him but concerned he may not be in a good home. This made me want to do more in the future to ensure animals in the pound end up in good homes.
Now my goal is to become a veterinarian and join Hope For Paws. Hope For Paws is an organization with people around the world looking for animals who need help. I would love to work with animals in a more hands-on way and give them good futures.
I also like to become an animal photographer. I could capture images of the animals at the pound and present them in a happy way so they are adopted. Many of the animals at the pound look sad or afraid, and people may not want to adopt them because of this. My photos could raise more awareness so the animals have a better chance of being adopted into good homes. My plan is to take photography classes in college and volunteer at local pounds. I could offer to take pictures at no cost to start my business. Kia could post them on social media or put signs out. The love that I have for animals stemmed from the encouragement from my family.
My five siblings, and I all got along growing up. We moved from Minnesota to Alaska as kids. Out of all my siblings I look up to my oldest sister the most because I want to be more like her. She is 23 years old, and we are 10 years apart. I love her confidence, how outgoing she is, how responsible and caring she is for animals. When I was a kid, she would take me to dog parks with her. I loved it and learned so much from her. Years later, I now have her same passion for it.
My goals are to work with my sister and maybe start a business to help and save animals in the world. I would like to focus my efforts in China because that’s where many dogs are killed and eaten. I also plan on going to vet school so I know how to help animals in bad situations. I still look up to my sister, but I want to work with her to do good with animals around the world.
