When Raquel Craven first learned that some 270 neglected and malnourished dogs had been rescued from a shelter in Makaha last month, she figured she should let her 10-year-old son Cody know.
Mom and son had been volunteering at the Hawaiian Humane Society each weekend for the last couple of years. On most visits they washed and walked dogs; sometimes they helped to socialize the cats for adoption. But Craven knew that their next visit might involve contact with some of the rescued dogs, and she wanted to make sure Cody was prepared.
Craven didn’t share the heartbreaking photos of the dogs, but she did read Cody some of the messages posted by HHS on their Facebook feed.
Cody’s response was immediate.
“I felt really sorry for them, and I wanted to do something,” he said. “I didn’t want them to suffer.”
One of the HHS messages included a call for towels and other supplies needed to care for the dogs.
And so Cody cleared the family linen closet of old towels and asked his grandmother to donate whatever she could, as well.
But he didn’t stop there. On his own initiative, Cody set out to collect towel donations from around his Enchanted Lake neighborhood.
Radio Flyer wagon in tow, Cody and his mother spent two hours walking up and down their street collecting donations from generous neighbors.
Cody did all of the talking, confidently explaining that he and his mother were HHS volunteers and that they were collecting used towels to help dogs taken from the Makaha shelter.
Craven wasn’t surprised at her son’s reaction to the situation, but admitted that she was impressed at the discipline he showed in patiently going door to door to solicit donations.
“It was like an early Halloween,” she said laughing. “He thought about what he wanted to say, then went out there and did it.”
By the time they returned home, Cody had collected 57 towels — two wagon loads — as well as a couple of wire kennels, all earmarked for the rescued dogs.
“It felt great,” the Punahou School fourth-grader said.
Craven said that in the weeks since, she and her son have been witness to inspiring acts of compassion by others who have come in to HHS to make donations or to foster some of the dogs.
For Cody, collecting towels was no big deal, just an opportunity to do some good for a cause he believes in.
“I love dogs and cats,” he said. “It makes me feel good helping animals that need help.”
Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com.
