The Little Elm Animal Shelter received a surprise gift a few weeks ago — a donation from an 8-year-old boy.
In lieu of gifts for his birthday, Olivier Morgan asked for donations to the Little Elm Animal Shelter. Friends and family came through, gifting dog and cat toys, food, and many other items that the local shelter needed. Morgan delivered the items a few weeks ago.
“It is so heartwarming when we see kids ask for donations for the shelter animals instead of birthday presents for themselves,” said Therese Hoofnagle, Animal Services Manager for the Town of Little Elm. “We take great pride in how the animals in our care are treated in the shelter but we are limited to the ‘goodies’ we can provide. When we receive donations, like the ones from Olivier, we can give the dogs and cats a little bit extra. It means a lot to small shelters like us, to know you have community support. We deal with some tough situations and seeing young kids put others before themselves gives us hope for future generations.”
Morgan has two dogs of his own, Donut and Fluffy. He loves to play soccer, help his mother take care of her bees (she is a beekeeper), play the piano, and read graphic novels. When asked about why he wanted to donate to the shelter instead of receiving birthday gifts, he said “It felt really good to bring donations to the shelter because I love all animals.”
When he gets older, Morgan said he hopes to play professional soccer and become a veterinarian when he retires.
“He was so happy to be able to help the animals,” Jenna Morgan, Olivier’s mother said.
The animal shelter works with surrendered, stray, and abandoned animals every day and while rewarding, it can often be an emotional rollercoaster. Working with the several homeless animals can be overwhelming and it wears on the volunteers, the animal control officers, and community members, said Jenny McCullough, founding board member and current president of Friends of the Little Elm Animal Shelter.
“This is what really brings us hope,” McCullough wrote in a blog post. “Humanity is not dead! There is another generation to carry on the work we are doing now. When we tire from what sometimes seems to be a never ending cycle of homeless animals, an Olivier walks into our lives. It's really hard to express how much this act of kindness really made my day. Thank you Olivier and thank you to his mom Jenna for raising this wonderful young boy!”
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Arianna Morrison is a reporter for Star Local Media, covering the communities of The Colony, Little Elm, Carrollton, Lewisville, Flower Mound and Coppell. Email her with story ideas and more at amorrison@starlocalmedia.com.
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