My kids are quite often my heroes. This week it’s my son.

He started the week doing a service learning day with school. There were five
choices- working with kids at a nearby  school in a few different capacities, working with the elderly, and helping take care of dogs in a shelter environment.

Guess which one he chose? He thought they all sounded cool, but the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

The group is called Found Animals Adopt and Shop and there are a few very cool things about this organization. First, they allow teenagers to help out when supervised. Second, the “shop” part in their name is because they sell items to not only help raise funds for their animal rescue services, but the items are helpful for new pet parents as well.

As an aside, they also have a Catty Wagon which is a tricked out truck that brings kitten adoptions to you! Watch the video below. It’s clever.

He really became my hero though on Monday after I picked him up from school. Driving home, in the middle of a busy intersection we saw a scared little dog. His mom was trying to catch him but he kept running out into the street. Somehow, after enough horns beeped and enough people corralled him, he ran back up onto the grass. Zander jumped out of the car and said “I’m going to help” before I could protest. I pulled the car over and by the time I got to the bush where the pup was cornered, his mom was able to grab his collar.

Zander was wise enough to ask the mom “if I pick him up, will he bite me?” This way, he would know whether it was safe for him to be the one to pick him up or not.

Our hearts were all pounding in our chests. It was touch and go there for a moment when that little dog was in the middle of the intersection. Zander didn’t hesitate for a moment. He saw that dog and knew he needed to help.  I reminded him that in this case, it was fine, but always to consider the situation and make sure that he stay safe too.

It’s usually me that comes home and says “guess what I did today? I helped a dog find his or her way home.” But that week, it was my son. Yes, he’s my hero.