Pals with Paws

Hayden Roland has a lot of pets. He has two dogs, Sasha and Peanut; two rabbits, BunBun and Velvet; and a pair of potbellied pigs, Ava and Layla.

BunBun came to Hayden’s family as a foster pet. He’d been hurt by a cat. “We just got really attached, and we kept him,” Hayden, 12, told TIME for Kids. Something similar happened with Ava. “A lot of people think, ‘Oh, they’ll stay these cute little purse pigs,’” Hayden says. “Ava got bigger.” (She now weighs as much as a Great Dane.) Her stay with Hayden’s family was supposed to be temporary, he explains. “But then we just kept her forever.”

Hayden’s love for animals led him to start Wagging Tails. It’s a youth volunteer group. The group is based at the Maclean-Cameron Animal Adoption Center, in Great Falls, Montana. In February, Wagging Tails celebrated its one-year anniversary.

KIDS CARE The Wagging Tails volunteer group gathers at the Maclean-Cameron center for its October 2024 meeting.

Pets in Need

In the United States, nearly 6 million cats and dogs entered shelters and rescue facilities in 2024. Most of those animals were then adopted. They went to new homes. That’s according to Shelter Animals Count, a national database.

CURIOUS CAT Hayden enjoys some quality time with Banksky at the Maclean-Cameron Animal Adoption Center.

Why does an animal wind up in a shelter? Maybe its owner can no longer afford pet care. Maybe they move to a place where animals aren’t allowed. “You know what? Life gets hard,” Pam Volk says. She’s the executive director of Maclean-Cameron.

Volk has known Hayden for years. He’s a longtime volunteer. In 2022, she honored him at the center’s annual Fur Ball fundraiser. She presented him with the Youth Philanthropy Award. Later, Hayden asked her if he could start Wagging Tails. He wanted to use the center as the group’s home base. Volk was all in. “How do you make a difference? You find something you’re passionate about,” she says.

BELLY RUB Luna, a rescue dog at the Maclean-Cameron center, enjoys playtime with Hayden.

Helping Hands

Hayden says there are now 32 Wagging Tails volunteers. Once a month, they meet at the center.

SQUEAKY CLEAN Hayden works alongside another Wagging Tails volunteer. Their tasks include washing pet bowls.

“They do all kinds of things,” Volk says. They do laundry, stock the center’s pet food pantry, and walk dogs. This past winter, the kids made covered beds for stray cats.

“They just impress me, because they truly are out there,” says Aria Roland, Hayden’s mom. “They are not scared to put their ideas out there. They’re not scared to get involved.”

TASTY TREATS Hayden stocks food and treats in the Maclean-Cameron pet food pantry.

“Animals, I feel, should have a voice,” Hayden says. So he and his fellow volunteers use their voices to help their furry friends.

Inspired?

Let Hayden’s story inspire you to protect animals in your community. Click below for ideas about how you can promote animal welfare and make the world a brighter place.