Dickinson County 7-year-old girl collects donations for animal shelter for birthday instead of asking for gifts

QUINNESEC, Mich. (WLUC) - Ava Carl turned seven years old last week and instead of asking for presents, she collected donations for the Almost Home Animal Shelter in Quinnesec.

“I love animals and I want them to stay healthy,” Ava Carl said.

Ava’s father, Aluc Carl, said she got everything she wanted for Christmas and the family discussed how else they could spend her birthday.

“We just came together with donating to the animal shelter,” Aluc Carl said. “It was easy. She loved the idea and she ran with it.”

Animal shelter staff say the generosity of families like the Carls is what keeps the shelter operational.

“Probably in the last three or four years, I would say the trend is going up,” said Diane Luczak, Almost Home Animal Shelter manager. “The trend where kids are asking less for gifts for themselves, and more about giving to others, like donating to the shelter.”

Luczak credits excellent parenting for children’s generosity. The Carl family currently has three dogs and one cat, but as a birthday surprise for Ava, they adopted abn orange male cat named Gingy.

“He is really really cute,” Ava exclaimed.

Carl said it is important to teach his children about giving back and said he hopes lessons like this will stay with them when they grow up.

“You’re never better than anybody else,” Carl said. “Helping anything or anyone, animal or person is a greater thing than being selfish towards yourself. If she is selfish towards herself, what is she going to accomplish in life?”

Now, Gingy is at the Carl home, looking forward to spending the rest of his life with his new companions.

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