Right then, in that moment, I knew I had to do something to help. I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I’ve always loved animals, and they’ve been a part of my life ever since I can remember. My sister and I have this in common, which is why we decided to save up our money and donate it to the humane society. We knew there were animals there who needed help and deserved a better life, but we didn’t understand it completely until that day.

On the way there we were pretty excited to get to see all the animals, and we were happy that we were helping them by donating. The money we had saved wasn’t a lot, but when you’re a kid even the smallest amount of money is a lot to you. The ride there seemed like it took forever because I was so excited and impatient. Going to the pet store is always fun when you’re a kid, but what you don’t realize is that is how they live their lives every single day. They sit in cages all day, only getting out to go walk around very few times a day. I thought this would just be another trip to a pet store. I didn’t think it would change my life and help me determine the career I am working towards today.

“There’s the lady you will give your money too. Tell her you’re donating it to help the animals” my mom said as she pointed to the woman behind the counter. My sister, Hannah, and I fought over who got to hand the money to her. My dad, knowing how to settle our little fights, split the money in half for us so it would be fair. We approached the counter and handed the money to the friendly woman behind the counter. She sincerely thanked us with a smile that was a mile wide. I was so proud for saving the money to donate when I easily could have spent it on candy and toys, and I knew my parents were proud of me too. The woman explained to my sister and I that these animals didn’t have families, and they were trying to find them homes. Some of their previous owners were negligent, and that’s how they ended up in the humane society. I looked around and saw tons of cages, so many animals, and none of them had homes. That wasn’t right. I felt like I needed to do more to help but I didn’t know what else I could do.

I walked around and I saw a yellow lab in a kennel. “He’s been here for a while.” the woman said with sadness in her voice. I started to experience malaise. The dog looked so happy, running and jumping around. I stuck my fingers through the kennel and pet him, and let him lick my hand. This made him even more happy. I thought, how can something so little and insignificant make an animal so happy? This dog could have such a better life, running around and playing outside. If he was so happy spending all day in a kennel, I couldn’t imagine how happy he would be once he got adopted. That dog made me realize that all animals deserve to live the best life they possibly can. Right then, in that moment, I knew I had to do something to help. I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to help animals in need, and give them the lives they deserve. I wanted so badly to take that dog home with me, but we already had two dogs at home so my parents said no. If I couldn’t take the dog home and make it a part of my family, I had to find some other way to help.

“I want to be a vet” I said to my parents as we got into the car to go home. “I want to be an animal cop, like on TV” said Hannah. We both wanted to do something to help animals in need, especially after all we had seen and learned that day, and we knew it would eventually be feasible for us. It makes me really happy that the humane society takes in animals that don’t have homes and gives them a second chance to live a better life. Those people make a huge difference in the lives of the animals and ever since that day, I want to make a difference in their lives too. The first time I visited the humane society had a huge impact on my life. It made me realize that every living thing deserves the best possible life they can have, and made me want to make a difference. This experience helped me decide that I want to have a career that involves helping animals. I love animals and I would really enjoy being able to work with them every day, so I will be going to college to become a vet.