No party please: Nine-year-old spends birthday feeding stray, neglected animals
Cape Town – While most children wish for a big party or extravagant presents, this Cape Town boy only asked for dog food to feed needy animals in his area.
Dane Klein, 9, from Ocean View has had a passion for animals since a very young age and this year for his birthday on Wednesday he wanted to spend it with animals who need food.
Speaking to IOL, his proud mother, Chelsea Klein, 26, said the area is plagued by stray dogs and her son has always had a big love for animals, especially dogs, as he has grown up around dogs.
“Since I got married we moved and here are many stray dogs. So what we do is we keep leftover food for the dogs and Dane will feed them,” she explained.
Chelsea said she and Dane’s father sat him down asking what he wanted for his birthday and they were shocked.
“We asked Dane what he wants for his birthday because we usually have a party or go out. He said he doesn’t want a party or presents. He just wants dog food.
“However, because he loves soccer, we had something small for him on Saturday and on the invites said no presents but dog food,” the mother of two explained.
On Saturday, Dane was given a soccer-themed birthday party and got quite a few bags of dog food for his birthday project.
“This morning (Wednesday), we went to a house where there were two adult dogs, pit bulls, and puppies and he handed over 5 litres of water and dog food.
“Dane wants to spend the day feeding the dogs. We are going to walk around in the area later and feed the dogs.
“We were walking around and Dane became very teary-eyed. So I told him we can take a break and go ahead walking around later today,” Klein told IOL.
She added: “Dane’s love for animals stems from his great-grandmother, who had seven dogs and two cats with the same love for animals, so it definitely runs in our family.”
The shy soon-to-be Grade 3 learner of Bay Primary School in Fish Hoek said he doesn’t know why he loves animals as he does.
The avid soccer player who has been playing since the age of one and currently plays for Ocean View FC said he does not like seeing animals go hungry.
“I just want people to look after dogs, feed their dogs and give them water,” he said.
Dane hopes to become a professional soccer player one day and follow in the footsteps of his soccer idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, a former player of Manchester United.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL