When you were nine, what items topped your birthday wish list? For me, it was a pony, probably some assortment of Beanie Baby, and a myriad of Britney Spears paraphernalia, so basically useless junk. This, however, is not the case with the birthday list of nine year old, Ethan Katz. Instead of toys or video games, this compassionate little boy wanted to save dogs from his favorite animal rescue shelter for his birthday.

How incredible is that. Ethan’s family adopted their two rescue dogs , “Brooklyn” and “Fly” from City Dogs Rescue in Washington, D.C. and Ethan was eager to help out all the other dogs waiting to be rescued. City Dogs Rescue is a non-profit that takes in dogs from overcrowded, high-kill shelters and gives them a second chance at being adopted into a loving home.

In order to do this, Ethan jumped into action and thought of the amazing idea to design and sell t-shirts on the City Dogs Rescue website. In a mere two months, this nine year old aficionado has sold 280 t-shirts, raising a total of $5,000 dollars for the shelter. With that money, City Dogs Rescue has been able to save 10 dogs, and as more t-shirts are sold they are poised to save even more.

This story just goes to show that no matter what age you are, you have the power to make an incredible impact on the world. Because of Ethan Katz, 10 dogs have been given a second chance at the happy life full of love they deserve. Check out this video below to hear straight from Ethan what inspired him to begin this project.

To purchase one of Ethan’s t-shirts and help save more dogs, click this link. For more on City Dogs Rescue, check out their website here.

Image source: City Dogs Rescue