When Anna Beer planned her ninth birthday, she had a special request.
“She asked everyone to not bring gifts but instead to bring an item to donate to the North Oakland Animal Shelter,” said Chris Beer, her father.
‘I like animals more than presents,? Anna said. ‘I’m just naturally attracted to them. I like horses, pigs, goats, dogs, and cats.”
She lives in Independence Township with her parents, Chris and Shelly, her sister Amanda, cats Hope and Charity, and Miss Cookie, their Australian Labradoodle.
‘We collected tons of treats, tons of food, and tons of blankets,? Anna said. “They were like, ‘Oh my gosh!? They were so excited.”
“We’re really proud of her,” Shelly said.
She and her guests also made cat toys and dog biscuits for the shelter, from which they adopted their two cats.
“They were running short on supplies,” said Anna, who wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.
Horses are her favorite animal, and she has taken riding lessons in Oxford since she was 5 years old, Chris said.
“I know how to walk, trot, and canter,” Anna said.
“When she was little, about 2-3 years old, she loved My Little Pony,” Shelly said. “It’s all she would play with, so I knew she would love horses.”
She raised more than $125 for the Michigan Humane Society’s annual Mega March for Animals in downtown Detroit, Oct. 4. Her school, Everest Academy, also encourages giving, charity, and helping other people, she said.