W’burg fourth graders donate their own money to help stray dog

Twenty students in Mrs. Leah Harrison’s fourth grade homeroom at Williamsburg Elementary School have emptied out their piggy banks.

For around a week, students participated in a 4-H service project by bringing in their spare change to donate to the Whitley County Animal Shelter in sponsorship of an animal that resides there. The final amount rang in at $79.84.

“The students just asked if we could do some type of service project for a local organization in the community,” Harrison said.

“They picked the animal shelter and we got to sponsor a dog.”

The dog, a four-to-five month old, black and tan hound-mix, named Max has been at the shelter since March 1.

“I told them about Max and how he would be the perfect candidate,” Charlotte Shilt, assistant office manager of the shelter said. “The kids agreed.”

The students also brought in leashes, collars, wet and dry dog food, treats, bones and toys to donate to the animals in need at the shelter.

On May 31, Shilt and another volunteer from the Shelter visited the classroom to receive the donations and talk to the students about the processes involved with helping out an animal shelter.

“We talked about things like sponsoring an animal, foster homing, the wish list, the ways of adopting a pet and the importance of spaying and neutering their animals,” Shilt said.

Shilt also brought along a Blue Healer/Chihuahua mix named Patches, for the students to interact and learn with.

“I didn’t know how Max would react to the crowd so I brought Patches who is a little bit older and has done this type of educational learning thing,” Shilt said. “We found out that some of the kids wanted to volunteer with us this summer and asked some questions about what to do if they lost their pet.”

Harrison is extremely proud of the selflessness of her students.

“This was their own money,” Harrison said. “They just did this for the animals. The money they raised will now help Max go to a good loving home for free.”

And as if the change the students had already given was not enough, some were even trying to give away the money for their field trip to the water park later in the day.

“It says a lot about these kids,” Shilt said. “I think it’s absolutely remarkable. It shows they have a lot of responsibility, heart and a lot of character. They did an awesome job for the little time they had.”