Kind Kids: Winter 2025
Welcome to our new seasonal blog series, “Kind Kids,” where we celebrate the inspiring young individuals in our community who are making a difference for pets in need and spreading kindness! Each post will spotlight a young advocate who has shown exceptional compassion and generosity towards the Jacksonville Humane Society and pets in need.
Seventh grader Sabal has been making a difference in the lives of animals in our community since 2021, when she joined the Jacksonville Humane Society’s Pawsitive Reading program.
“I have always loved dogs and wanted to be involved in helping dogs in the community,” Sabal explained when asked what drew her to JHS. “When I first heard of JHS, I went to their website and looked at what volunteer programs I could do. I saw Pawsitive Reading, and I immediately joined it.”
For those unfamiliar with Pawsitive Reading, it’s a program in which kids can volunteer to read out loud to the pets at JHS. Studies have shown that listening to a person reading out loud can lower stress levels in animals and help them feel more relaxed, which makes it an ideal enrichment activity for pets living in shelters.
Since joining the program in 2021, Sabal has logged over 60 hours of reading time at JHS – the most of any participant.
“I love to help the pets in my community because I feel like I’m doing something good,” Sabal shared. “You should always be kind to pets because you don’t know what they have been through.”
Sabal’s involvement in the JHS mission isn’t limited to Pawsitive Reading. She has been attending camps at JHS regularly over the last several years, becoming an expert on topics like dog and cat behavior and body language, animal enrichment, and promoting pets for adoption. And she never comes empty-handed – every time Sabal attends a camp, she bakes and donates homemade dog treats to brighten our pups’ days.
Sabal has also invested time in helping spread the word about dogs at JHS who have been waiting to find a home for a long time, like Callie, pictured below. Sabal helped promote Callie throughout Jacksonville by wearing an “Adopt Callie” button and designing eye-catching signs to draw in potential adopters. (Callie has since been adopted!)
“I have done Dog Day Outs with my parents two times, and I loved it,” Sabal added of her efforts to help the dogs at JHS. “We take the dog to get a pup cup at Starbucks, we then go to the park, and we end our day going to a pet-friendly restaurant. My school also does a program where you can donate supplies for pets and they take them to the city shelter. I have donated the past two years at my school.”
Most recently, Sabal served as a Junior Volunteer at JHS’s annual Deck the Howls holiday family event in December, and we have no doubt she will continue her amazing work for years to come. As Sabal herself stated, “I know want to be a pet shelter owner when I grow up because I was inspired by the pets at JHS.”
Sabal’s dedication to helping the pets at JHS shows how one person’s compassion can make a world of difference, no matter their age. We are incredibly grateful for her acts of kindness and hope her example inspires others to take action to help animals in need.
Learn more about how you can get involved:
Do you know a young animal advocate who you think should be featured in this series? We’d love to hear about them: