Evan Bisnauth is an 11-year-old boy from Bronx, New York, who has a passion for helping dogs waiting to be adopted at local shelters. His goal is to increase their socialization toward improving their chances of finding their forever homes!
Toward his goal, Evan visits shelters and reads to the dogs. The idea is to offer companionship and teach them to trust the kindness of humans, ultimately making them more adoptable. During COVID, he even started making animations of the animals in hopes of getting them more attention and thus placed sooner!
“During COVID, I was not able to go in person and I needed to find a fun way to showcase the dogs and put them in a positive light,” Evan explained to Today. “I started animating them doing all the fun thighs dogs like to do to get people to picture them as part of their family.” How kind is that?!
To show appreciation for Evan’s kindness and compassion toward shelter animals, the ASPCA named him their ‘Kid of the Year’!
According to Today, ASPCA president and CEO, Matt Bershadker stated, “Our 2021 ASPCA Humane Award winners represent the best of us – heroic people and organizations dedicated to helping vulnerable animals, and amazing animals who demonstrate the invaluable love and comfort they’re capable of providing.”
In an interview with Today, Evan shared that he’s honored to have won the award. “It makes me feel really good,” he stated. “But it also makes me want to do so much more.”
Amanda Persuad, Evan’s mom, shared how proud she is of her son with Today, stating, “It definitely means a lot to see Evan doing something that makes him happy and him pursuing a passion with the encouragement to go further and really trying to make a difference.”
While Evan doesn’t play favorites, Amanda did say that he does his best to help the dogs that are having the toughest time being adopted. She explained, “He goes and he’s very patient. He’s very calm. He sits there, even though they’re barking at him in his face, he’s just going to sit there and be like, ‘I know. I know it’s hard. But I’m here. And if you want to hear a story, you’re going to have to be quiet.”
In a final statement with Today, Evan said, “I just want people to know that shelter dogs are not bad dogs. They are just looking for good people. And to all the kids out there, you are never too small to make big changes.”
We couldn’t agree more, Evan! Thank you for your kindness and your commitment to making the world a better place!
