[VIDEO] Impressive: This Teen Started An Animal Welfare Non-Profit

This amazing young woman started a non-profit after being inspired by her family dog, Teddy. Teddy the dog suffered from heartworms and was abandoned in a high kill shelter but his life has served a far greater purpose. His owner started a non-profit organization to help other dogs and animals just like him!

Teenager Starts Non-Profit

Teenager Annie Blumenfeld was inspired to begin a non-profit program after her family adopted their beloved dog, Teddy. Annie says that her family had searched for three years through different venues including breeders, pet stores, and shelters for a new furry addition to bring into the family. Finally, they searched the Internet and came across a two-year-old shaggy dog named Teddy in Houston, Texas. Teddy had been rescued by Houston Shaggy Dog Rescue from a high kill shelter in Texas. Soon he was adopted and at home with the Blumenfelds. Sadly, this was not the end of poor Teddy’s struggle.

Heartworm Struggle

After the Blumenfeld’s brought home Teddy they took him to have a veterinarian checkup. It was soon revealed by the veterinarian that Teddy was suffering from heartworm disease. The poor dog had to be given arsenic injections and also had to be confined in a crate for a time. Annie took it upon herself to learn more about the effects of heartworms. She said, “It broke my heart to know that my dog had endured great pain.” It was from this moment and experience that Annie had an idea to bring awareness to Teddy’s story and other dogs like him.

Custom Artwork

Annie soon decided to begin selling her custom artwork. She paints custom animal portraits. The proceeds benefit other dogs and pets. Annie enjoys painting both dogs and cats and uses both acrylics and watercolor for her paintings. She realized that her artwork could be used for a good cause so Annie soon started Wags 4 Hope. Annie also takes custom orders and will paint a custom image of your pet. Annie has also donated various paintings to different places including multiple children’s hospitals to bring a little bit more joy to the world. What an amazing young woman to accomplish so much good out of her love for animals!

Responsible Pet Ownership

Another one of the chief purposes of Wags 4 Hope is to help encourage responsible pet ownership. This includes teaching children how to be responsible pet owners through activities including fun crafts. Responsible pet ownership probably could have prevented a dog like Teddy from getting heartworms as there are many preventative medications on the market for dogs. Annie and Wags 4 Hope has been featured in a huge amount of media across the country both print and televised including Good Morning America. Wow! It’s amazing Annie was able to start such a successful non-profit organization at such a young age. Surely, there will be more great things to come from her.

The Love of a Dog

Annie also recently created an education pamphlet that has spread to all fifty states and even some other parts of the world. Because of her work, Connecticut is now the first state to include a heartworm awareness message when applying for a dog license. In addition to all of the donate paintings, Wags 4 Hope has also collected thousands of items for dogs. The organization has been responsible for helping save thousands of animals since it first started. All of this was born from a girl’s immense love and compassion for her dog. Check out the story of Annie and Teddy in the video below.

Courtesy of HooplaHa – Only Good News