[PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The Zebra is proud to publish the following article written by 8th grader Cece Baker, whose Girl Scout Silver Award project shines a compassionate light on the needs of homeless animals in Alexandria. Her story is presented below in her own words.]

Paws for a Cause
Written by 8th grader Cece Baker

As a child, I have been fortunate to have a wonderful puppy called Max. I have watched him grow up and love him very much; he is like a best friend to me. Having a love for animals and enjoying visiting the Zoo a lot, made me think what could I do to give back to them.

Last year I planned my Girl Scout’s Silver Award project around wanting to help build awareness about the plight of animals and the need for adoption. There are many animals in our community who do not have a home, which means they do not have food or someone to love them. Many of these animals end up in shelters and those shelters can become overcrowded and overflow with too many animals to care for.

I chose this project because I am very passionate about animals and have a strong love for them. I want people to know that pets also have feelings and if they don’t have a family to love them, they can become lonely. Spreading awareness about animals can help people get more engaged. Someone might think twice before buying a pet when they know they can adopt one from the shelter.

So why are there so many homeless animals?

One of the most important root causes is the lack of spaying and neutering, a surgical procedure that prevents animals from reproducing. This leads to overpopulation of pets.

Another cause is the surrendering of the pets by their owners. One big reason that owners surrender pets is due to stereotypes about certain dogs who people think are aggressive.

There is another big problem as some shelters might not have room for more animals because of their size and need for certain medication. I worked with the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria and met their executive director and interviewed her. According to Isabelle Alexi, “building awareness about spaying and neutering is a big need for their shelters. It is harder for older animals to be adopted. Their toughest issue is surrendering pets, taking in wild animals for treatment but putting them back into the wild”. I asked her how I can help and make a lasting change, and she said that “towel and blanket drives can make a big difference.”

So I decided to host a towel drive at my school Alexandria Country Day School. I collected over 30 towels and gave them to the Alexandria Animal Welfare League shelter. The reason why towels are important to donate is because they can help animals feel clean, warm, and they can help animals with cancer when they lose their hair.

If you want to help and make a change you can visit animal shelters and read to pets so they don’t feel so lonely. You can also foster a dog for as long as you want and give them the best life you can. Little things like these can really impact the animal and how they feel. If you ever see an abandoned animal you can always take it to a shelter nearby and have them cleared. For more information please visit: https://alexandriaanimals.org/