:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/XUDWQ42ECRYPFGRK5N7QMB5FT4.jpg)
Hibernating — that’s what the animals at Clarke County Animal Shelter will be doing this winter, at least according to Jovee Blakely, 4, of Osceola.
Therefore, the cats and dogs will need a lot of food in the coming months to keep themselves well fed. That’s why Jovee decided to put others in need before herself.
“She said, ‘I have enough toys already, I want the kitties and puppies to have nice, warm full bellies this winter,’” said Jovee’s mother Erin.
“Because the cats and dogs didn’t have enough food,” Jovee added.
Giving back
On Thursday, Nov. 20, Jovee made a special donation of pet food and supplies to Clarke County Animal Shelter.
However, it’s the reasoning behind this donation that makes it extra special.
On Jovee’s recent birthday invitations for her party, it was written that, instead of gifts, she would prefer to have pet food and supplies that could be donated to the animal shelter.
“It means we’re going to have a lot of food throughout the winter that we normally wouldn’t have, and it means we’re going to have a lot more litter, which we go through quite a bit,” said Joy Durham, manager of Clarke County Animal Shelter. “The fact that Jovee takes out of her heart to give us, instead of having it go to her.”
Jovee is the daughter of Erin and Shane Blakely and sibling of Journee, 1.
The Blakely family has many pets of their own at home, and they have even adopted cats from the animal shelter.
“She is an animal lover. This is the second year in a row she’s done this,” Erin said.
What she brought
Jovee was able to donate 400 pounds of pet food and 100 pounds of litter, plus a lot of toys and cleaners.
If people are inspired by Jovee’s act of kindness, the items in need are kitten food, cat litter and puppy food.
Cash was also donated to Jovee, and this meant she was able to buy extra cat toys and bleach that were needed.
“Even when we went shopping, I told her, here’s the money you have, and she held on to the card. She didn’t ask for anything for herself. I was really impressed,” Erin said.