A group of children banded together and raised the funds needed to give a dog the life-saving surgery he needed. Trisha Sharp is a second-grade teacher at Shawnee Heights Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas. She has always understood that her role as a teacher impacts her students’ lives, but she never expected one of her lessons to save a life. Yet that’s just what it did.
Sharp had just finished leading her class in reading the book Sheepdog in the Snow, a children’s book about kids who help a stranded Sheep dog with a broken leg. Just after finishing the book, she happened upon a serendipitous Facebook post from the nearby Helping Hands Humane Society.
The post was written to ask for help with a stray dog – who had a broken leg. When Sharp visited their website, she saw that they’d posted a video of the pup with a request for a donation of $400 to pay for the surgery he needed.
Ryker, an Australian Shepherd, had been taken to the Helping Hand Humane Society after a local veterinarian found him stranded and wounded on the side of the road. After they watched the video, Sharp’s students were determined to help Ryker in any way they could.
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The children asked Sharp to help them help the dog. So, she sent them home with a note to their parents. The next day, the students had raised over $450.00. Sharp claims that none of the efforts were hers. Every bit came from the students.
The sweet group of kids also made get-well cards for Ryker and sent them to the shelter.
The shelter was beyond happy to receive the donation, and after Ryker had healed they brought him to the elementary school to surprise the kids with a visit to thank them. The students were not disappointed. The kids were ecstatic to see the dog, and the shelter even made prints of Ryker’s paws to give to them as a present.
Ryker was also giddy and happy to be there with the children. He posed for pictures, snuggled the kids, and offered everyone tons of kisses to express his gratitude.
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I think this is such a heartwarming tale. It shows that children are inherently loving, caring, and selfless. Trisha Sharp has done an excellent job of teaching her students important values of life, such as nurturing and caring through action.
She should be proud of her students, and these children (and their parents) should be proud of themselves. They saved a life.
From here, Ryker will have a happy road ahead of him. He is currently in a foster home, and has already received over 100 applications from potential adopters. His sad beginning got a happy ending, thanks to the huge hearts of a group of loving children.
