BEREA, Ohio -- Denise and David Cunningham believe in service to others, and 8-year-old son, Elijah, has learned well their lessons of selflessness.
Elijah, whose parents were born and raised in Berea, recently donated his birthday money and gifts to benefit local animal shelters. He gave $150 to Berea Animal Rescue Friends, and another $150 to the Humane Society of Summit County. His relatives donated a variety of pet items on his behalf as well. The Cunninghams live in Mantua.
"His pets are very important to him," Denise Cunningham said. "All the dogs are shelter dogs. We also do a lot of kitten fostering for the humane society, so he's very familiar with shelters and their needs."
During the interview, Elijah held his cat, one of four the family owns. They also have 3 dogs.
He talked about Patronus, a boxer mix adopted from Berea ARF that had been a participant in a prison dog program. Patronus, whose name derives from the Harry Potter series, inspired Elijah to help other animals in need.
"Patronus ate a harness (at the prison), and he needed surgery," explained Elijah, going on to say "it costs a lot of money" that shelters don't have.
Denise said Elijah was on board completely when donating his birthday money.
"Without hesitation, he said, 'I want to do that,'" she explained. "We've always done fostering for the shelter, since even before he was born. It's something he's always been aware of and something we've tried to instill in him as being important. I'm super proud of him."
Elijah said he took cat toys to the shelter because cats "are so nice and gentle." He encourages other children to help the animals as well.
"It seems like it would be nice to give things to the shelters," he said.
Anyone wanting to do just that can get more information at bereaanimalrescue.com and summithumane.org.