Second graders at St. Michael's Episcopal School in Richmond, Virginia came up with a creative way to help shelter animals in their area.
Director of Richmond Animal Care & Control (RACC) Christie Peters worked with her son's teacher Kensey Jones at St. Michael's Episcopal School on the project. Jones was dubbed the "brainchild" behind the letters.
The kids were assigned RACC's oldest residents, the longest residents, and animals who needed some extra help in finding homes. They were then briefed on the background and temperament of the furry friend. Then the students created artwork as well as wrote letters to potential cat and dog families from the perspectives of the animals themselves. One read, "Hello! I'm Pitato Chip. I'm a Pitbull! I won't hurt you, I'll give you lots of kisses! Slurp! I like the animal shelter, but I want to live with you!"
The written stories and illustrations were hung on the outside of kennels to motivate potential adopters to bring one of the animals home. Jones revealed that 8 of the 24 animals written about were quickly adopted after adopters read the elementary kids' letters.
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