For more on the foundation, and tips on how to care for pets in case of a fire, go to www.emmazenfoundation.com or
Gwinnett fifth grader bypasses presents to save animals
Julia Hicks loves animals, as in really loves animals. The Gwinnett County fifth grader has a passel of dogs and cats. And for her 11th birthday, Julia asked her friends to donate the money that they were going to spend on her presents toward oxygen masks for dogs and cats caught in a home fire. Turns out the masks that first responders use to treat people for smoke inhalation don't fit pets so well. Julia ended up raising $155, enough to purchase animal oxygen kits for two Gwinnett firehouses. The kits, which have three different sized masks, came from the Emma Zen Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for firehouses to carry pet oxygen masks. The foundation was so impressed that it doubled Julia's gift, providing two additional kits to Gwinnett firehouses.
Q: How many animals do you have?
A: Six cats, two of them kittens, and three dogs. All of them are rescues. There are tons of animals that need homes so why not rescue them and give them a home?
Q: What do these animals give you?
A: They wake us up really, really early in the morning, and that is fun. I'm just kidding. They give us happiness. They are really playful, too. I have a bunk bed. A lot of animals sleep on the top bunk while I sleep on the bottom.
Q: How did you come up with the idea of raising money for masks to help animals involved in fires?
A: My mom told me about the Emma Zen Foundation. I read a few articles on Facebook about animals that have been saved. They were really awesome and amazing stories. Emma Zen is a black lab mix. She's the mascot because she was misplaced after a fire in California. I thought that was kind of cool because we have a black lab mix, too.
Q: Why do animals need their own masks?
A: Human masks don't fit because they're too flat and they don't seal over the animal's nose. If the mask is not sealed, then most of the oxygen comes out before the animal can inhale it.
Q: You visited a firehouse that got the masks. What was that like?
A: It was awesome. I got to see the masks and the lieutenant showed me how they work on our dog, Atka. He told me about how his friend, another firefighter, had saved these people from a fire and they had a dog and he thought the dog was dead. But he put the mask on it anyway and was petting the dog and suddenly the dog's tail twitched and started wagging. The dog started running around after that.
Q: You really asked your friends to donate money instead of presents?
A: I did. My friends thought what I was doing was great. Most of them have pets at home so they were really excited to help.
Q: Didn’t you miss those presents?
A: I still got to hang out with my friends, which was the best part.
Q: Didn’t the county commissioners recognize you?
A: We found that out after someone told us it was in the paper. That was pretty cool.
Q: Are your parents super proud?
A: I am assuming they are. They tell me that they are. They tell me that all the time.
Q: How does it feel to have raised that money for these masks?
A: It feels really great knowing that I will potentially save animals' lives.
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