Emmy Perry couldn’t stand the thought of a dog being euthanized just because of its age.
That’s why she started her own non-profit, Emmy’s Hope, when she was 7 to save shelter dogs.
“I saw so many dogs that needed help and I felt that I needed to help them,” Emmy told People.
Emmy grew up with parents that volunteered at their local animal shelter.
So, she spent a lot of time volunteering at the shelter herself, playing with the animals, and bringing donations.
Over the year, Emmy would spend her allowance and birthday gifts on helping animals in need.
“The catalyst for Emmy’s Hope, I remember, she was 6 years old and sat on Santa’s lap, and Santa said to her, ‘What do you want for Christmas?’ She said, ‘I want to save more dogs.’ Her dad and I heard that and realized this was obviously a passion of hers that hasn’t diminished since she was very little and that we had to make this happen for her,” Emmy’s mom, Elaine Perry, said. “She came up with the name and her mission: Saving animals one heart at a time.”
Emmy’s Hope helps by fostering pets and then placing their adoption information on her website.
She then spread the information around social media trying to find her dogs forever homes.
The organization also supplies foster dogs with things to keep them comfortable.
“There was a little dog that I fell in love with. His name was Fox. He was an older dog and usually they give them a shorter amount of time before they have to be put down,” Emmy told Kleenex. “If I saw Fox get adopted it would make me really happy, like a big stone on my heart would be lifted.”
OC Animal Care reached out to Kleenex to share Emmy’s story with them.
They surprised Emmy by putting together a large-scale adoption even in Emmy’s honor where 40 dogs were adopted.
“I thought I was going to the shelter to hand out more treats, but then I was very surprised,” Emmy said.
Emmy shed a few tears and held Fox close after learning that he had been adopted.
Then she was told that Fox wasn’t the only dog being adopted and that 39 others had along found forever homes.
“Those tears you see are just uncontrollable tears that kept going the whole day. To see these dogs that she had been networking go home really meant a lot,” her mom said.
The thought of all those dogs being saved and able to live out the rest of their lives in comfort and being loved made Emmy reach for some tissues.
“It made me really happy to see the dogs that I really loved get adopted. It’s been a really great day,” she said.
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Emmy, who is now an actress, singer writer, and director, is still an animal advocate to this day.
You can learn more about Emmy’s Hope at emmyshope.com. Check out the video about Emmy and Fox below!
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