When a Highlands Ranch 9-year-old’s dog passed away, he didn’t let the grief take over. Instead, she’s using her story and the holiday season to give back to homeless pets in her Colorado community.
CBS
It was Christmas last year when Milly Kukuczka lost her best friend. It was the dog he had since he was a baby.
“She’s a Border Collie mix and her name is Bella,” Milly said.
“It was really hard last year to watch her struggle with that,” said Milly’s mother, Ashley Kukuczka.
But this Christmas, Milly decided to help other pets.
“I thought it was sad that pets don’t have owners, especially during the holidays,” Milly said.
“We asked her for her Christmas list and what she wanted for Christmas and she went into her art room and came out with a flier and wanted to donate to the pet drive,” Ashley said.
Kukuczka family
His parents reached out to the Dumb Friends League in Denver, shared the pet drive on social media, and soon the community jumped in to help.
“We’ve partnered with our gym and with her school, we have set boxes up there. I’m collecting some at my work, my husband’s collecting some at his work,” said Ashley.
Milly wants to collect as many toys, food, and pet supplies as she can. She wants every pet without an owner to have a gift to open at Christmas.
“Treats, and bones, and some food,” Milly said as she looked at a donation bag.
“There were 50 toys in there. We had boxes of treats and cat scratchers. I think there were five or six dog beds,” Ashley said.
CBS
At age 9, Milly serves as Santa for shelter pets.
“Just make sure every pet feels loved, even if they don’t have a home at Christmas,” says Ashley.
“Even though you’re small, you can still do a lot,” said Milly.
BackCountry CrossFit in Littleton is accepting donations for Milly. The pet drive runs through Thursday December 21. Then Milly will take them to the Denver Dumb Friends League, so the pets can get their presents in time for Christmas.
