Annie Blumenfeld was in eighth grade when she founded Wags 4 Hope, a non-profit that gives all of its proceeds to fund medical care for shelter and rescue animals. At that time, she learned that her rescue dog, Teddy, never had received treatment for his heartworm at his high-kill shelter in Texas. As a result, he had to be held in a crate and stabilized with arsenic injections for over a month to recover. He suffered atrociously, yet ended up thriving in Blumenfeld’s happy home. Many other pets with medical conditions are euthanized because shelters don’t have the funds to treat them. “I knew then that I had to do something to help other animals like Teddy,” Blumenfeld said.

After one of her paintings was featured in and sold at a local art show, Blumenfeld decided to paint portraits of people’s pets to fund a non-profit.

In addition, last year Blumenfeld was named Operation Hope's first ever Pet Ambassador. Food stamps do not cover the costs of pet food, creating financial strain for owners and resulting in beloved animals being abandoned on the streets. This in spite of the fact that animals are known to comfort people during times of hardship and high stress. Upon learning this, Blumenfeld was inspired to take action. She delivered 12 cars fully packed with pet food to Operation Hope's Food Pantry in Connecticut, and hopes to soon take the program nationwide.

Read the full article by MeiMei Fox about animal advocacy from Forbes Welcome