BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

Pet sitting for charity

By Hank Davis, age 16 | December 27, 2021

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HANK FOR HIRE Hank Davis, a junior at Stratford High School, runs a pet-sitting service and donates the money he makes to charity. Here, he is with Apollo, one of his pet clients.

Two things that I really like are animals and helping those in need. So when I figured out a way to use one for the benefit of the other, it was a perfect match.

It all started in 2017. Like many others in the Houston area, my family’s home flooded during Hurricane Harvey. Our house was inundated with over four feet of water for 11 days. It was a devastating disaster, to say the least.

During the year that followed, I got to see the kindness of charity first-hand – from the neighbors who rescued us in a canoe to the various friends and charitable groups who provided gift cards, cleaned and boxed items that could be saved, and came day after day to help us recover.

After Harvey, I was inspired to give back to those in need, so I started my own charitable organization, HankTcharities.com.

Looking for new ways to increase donations, I discovered an ever-increasing number of retired pet owners who love to travel. In 2020, I started a pet-sitting service to take care of the many “home alone” critters and found that it was a great way to make money for the charities that I support.

In the beginning, neighbors would ask if I could feed a cat or put a dog in its kennel while they were away. I soon made several furry friends that I now watch on a routine basis. I like animals, so it isn’t hard work, and all the money I make is donated directly to charity.

With the proceeds, I have been able to feed 32 children in Africa for an entire year, purchase 445 pairs of socks and underwear and 30 winter blankets for Houston Children’s Charity, donate $1,300 in gift cards to Houston families in need, make over $400 in donations to local food banks, and provide school supplies for one Spring Branch ISD classroom for the 2020-21 school year.

In the last 18 months, I have raised $4,500 watching pets. It is the best job ever because I can make money to help those in need while hanging out with animals that I enjoy.

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