The "Joy" of Pets
Joy Longley (10) from Atlanta, GA

Fifth-grader Joy Longley, 10, has been an animal lover as long as she can remember. She has always had pets of some kind, whether hamsters, fish, or her rescued terrier mix, Maggie (and although she doesn’t have one, snakes are Joy’s favorite animal!). She does petsitting for her neighbors and helps out with the family’s dog food delivery business. But it wasn’t until this summer, when she witnessed a sad occurrence of cruelty to animals, that Joy decided to turn her passion for animals into a plan of action.

“My friends, who are boys, killed a baby bird and then told me what happened. They seemed proud about it. That is what hurt me most. So I decided to build an animal shelter,” Joy says. She now has set her sights on achieving her dream of one day creating The Joy of Joy’s Pets animal shelter. In the meantime, she is teaming up with AARF to use her incredible talents and caring to help homeless pets today.

Joy’s mother, Susan, says Joy began by writing about her thoughts on the cruelty she saw and expressing her feelings about it. To help her daughter learn more, Susan searched online for documentaries about animal activism and found “Dealing Dogs,” which exposes the inhumane world of Class B pet dealers. “I rented it and watched it with her, checking in with her as we watched it to see if she was OK,” Susan says. “The reason I was willing to let her see it was that I knew that the project described in the film was ultimately successful - they did shut down the dealer, but it took a long time. That was another message I wanted Joy to understand, that we don't always make out dreams come true immediately, it requires hard work and perseverance.”

Joy says her writing helps her cope with the sad realities of animal abuse. “When I see things like that I go to a notebook and write down the things I could do about it or help other people do about it,” she says. Through Kids N Kritters, Joy is looking forward to finding exciting new ways to educate others and make a difference for animals. “I just think that they deserve respect like humans. They might be different, but they’re still living animals,” Joy says. “How some people treat animals—I just don’t want that happening anymore.”

If you are interested in making a difference like Joy or you have a story to share about your passion for helping animals, please contact us!