A New Whiteland teen has a unique birthday wish: for no shelter pet to go hungry while waiting to be adopted.
Noah McKeown, 14, has collected pet supplies every January since he was 10. He was inspired to start the first drive after his dog, Harley, passed away.
“When my dog passed it was heartbreaking. She was like one of my best friends at the time,” he said. “So I just said, ‘Mom, I want to donate to the animal shelter.’ And that year we were able to get 25 items.”
His parents helped him get the drive started by sharing the idea with their family and friends and through social media. Each year, the drive got bigger. By the second year, he collected 115 pet supplies, and last year, that number jumped to 422.
This year, collections are up to 700 supplies and counting, as of Tuesday evening. They’re already nearly 300 supplies past their goal.
Food, toys, treats and cleaning supplies to help dogs, cats, rabbits and other animals at local shelters are still pouring in daily.
Each day after school and work, the family comes home to find more packages on the doorstep that friends and strangers have ordered from their Amazon Wish List. Some days, Amazon delivery drivers unload almost half of their vans at the family’s home, said Monica McKeown, Noah’s mother.
“It is really awesome. I’m really proud of him and I’m really happy for him,” she said. “It is crazy — I mean a good crazy, a great crazy.”
Each day the family catalogs the new items and stores them for distribution at the end of the drive. Even the family’s dog, Wall-E, likes to help. He sniffs around the packages and helps Noah unbox the supplies, amazed at the toys and treats coming in for the shelter pets, Monica McKeown said.
The drive grew so much this year because they’re enlisting help from even more people. Monica McKeown made a Facebook page, “Noah’s Pet Supply Donation Drive,” shared it in a Facebook group for New Whiteland residents and added public collection sites at local businesses this year.
People can pitch in by ordering from an Amazon Wish List or purchasing supplies in person to drop off at several sites in Whiteland, Greenwood and Trafalgar. Donors can also buy gift cards or give cash if certain items they want to give are out of stock, Monica McKeown said.
With more than a week left until the drive ends Feb. 4, they’ve moved the goal up to 1,000 supplies, Noah McKeown said.
The donations will be given to the Johnson County Animal Shelter and S.A.F.E. Animal Rescue in Linton, where Wall-E was adopted.
Through the drive, Noah McKeown’s passion for animals keeps growing. He hopes to continue it for years to come, and plans to devote his life to helping animals by becoming a zookeeper, he said.
“Animals have always been a part of my life. I can’t see their sad, depressed, hopeless faces in the animal shelter,” he said. “I just want to give them a home and help them survive long enough to get a home.”
How to help
Online
Select items from the Amazon Wish List found at this link. Items can be purchased with a credit card and will be delivered to the McKeown home.
In-person
Donations can be dropped at the following sites in Johnson County:
- Dunn’s Hardware, 203 State Road 135, Trafalgar
- Berkshire Hathaway, 1680 W. Main St., Greenwood
- Beeson Mechanical, 501 Main St., Whiteland
- Bailey and Wood Financial, 740 Main St., Whiteland
- Whit’s Inn, 1020 N. U.S. 31, Whiteland
- Patrick’s Car and Truck, 370 N. U.S. 31, Whiteland
- Storm Chiropractic, 701 W. Madison St., Suite A, Greenwood.
At each site, there will be a container with a purple and orange flier that says “Noah’s Pet Supply Donation Drive.”
