6-Year-Old To Donate Birthday Gifts to Animal Shelter

This year for her birthday Dobbs Fery 1st-grader Maeve Gorham's has asked her friends to give her blankets, dog bowls and kibble—

And almost immediately after she receives her gifts, Gorham and her mom will bring the items to a no-kill animal shelter in Elmsford.

"I'm kind of sad I won't be getting presents of my own," Gorham said. "But I want to do it."

Earlier this month, Gorham's "four-footed cousin" Tucker died.

Maeve's mom Sheila Noonan Gorham explained that all within one month, her family memorialized their cousin, a firefighter, who passed away on Sept. 11, 2001 and then her sister's dog, Tucker.

"It was our collective idea for her to remember Tucker by having her friends make donations to the animal shelter," Noonan Gorham explained.

Gorham's whole party will have an animal theme—with the "Critter Caravan" bringing rabbits and chinchillas for the kids to play with.

"In school they teach us about doing good things," Gorham said.

Not surprisingly, when she grows up, Gorham wants to be a veterinarian.