Teen Pays Forward By Helping Senior Dogs

• Meena Kumar, 14, loves dogs so much she decided to create a company that raises funds for hospice dogs.
• She started the Pet Fairy Services when she was only 9 and donated the earnings to Muttville Senior Dog Rescue.
• Her company is now growing as many of his friends and cousins join the pet-sitting services.

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Fourteen-year-old Meena Kumar strongly believes that everybody deserves a second chance. 

She herself was saved because some goodhearted people gave her a second chance. She was only 9 months old when she was abandoned and left alone in a basket inside an Indian college. She stayed in an orphanage and after a year, she was adopted by a couple from San Jose, California.

“My parents tell me the story of when they adopted me at (age) 2 and they brought me to my grandparents’ apartment in Mumbai,” she recalled to TODAY. “My parents were worried about how to keep me amused in a small place. Thankfully, a dog had laid a litter of puppies, and I used to spend hours every day watching and playing with them.” 

Even when they moved back to their home in Northern California, she grew up still with her love for animals. She would frequently visit a Humane Society, and when she turned 8, her family adopted Bambie, a dog with mixed breed. 

Meena and Bambie have been very close and she adores teaching the pup many ticks like how to give a hug. “I just pat on my shoulder and she’ll come and actually like put her paws up and just stay there so I can hug her and stuff,” she said.

One day, Meena was out for a walk with Bambie when they stumbled upon Dr. Kathy Stecco, who was also out with her dog George. Dr. Stecco is also a foster mom who has taken care of many sickly dogs for Muttville Senior Dog Rescue — a nonprofit based in San Francisco that rescues and cares for elderly dogs.

Meena was curious about the organization so she paid them a visit and has since developed her passion to help senior dogs. 

“I love visiting Muttville,” she said. “The dogs may be senior and old, but they’re so friendly and cute, which is why I want to help them. They’re the most gentle and loyal creatures.”

But her parents were not into adopting new pets so Meena started the Pet Fairy Services — in which she does pet-sitting for a fee and the money she earns goes to Muttville as donation. 

So far, she has donated $7,000 to the organization. Inspired by her good deeds, her father’s company, Intel, also made a donation of the same amount. 

Meena is happy with how many lives of dogs she has saved and her business is growing bigger as her cousins and friends have started joining the Pet Fairy Services. Her parents are so proud of her and grateful of how kind-hearted she grew up to be.

Source: TODAY.Com