To nominate a student for Youth Spotlight, email wvictora@nwfdailynews.com or call 315-4478.
CRESTVIEW — When Maddie Riley started planning her 11th birthday party, she knew she wanted to do something different.
Rather than focus on herself, the fifth-grader looked at the world around her and realized she had an opportunity to help the dogs she worked with at Panhandle Animal Lovers.
When her friends came for the slumber party, Maddie asked them to bring bags of dog food instead of brightly wrapped packages for her.
“There really wasn’t anything that I needed, and I knew the dogs needed food,” Maddie said.
Her friends responded in spades. They donated nearly 200 pounds of food to the rescue organization.
“This is totally Madison,” said her mother, Niki Nilsen. “She’s always been very caring and giving.”
Maddie started volunteering at PAL several years ago after her parents came across it by accident. Her father had picked up two dogs from the side of the road and they were trying to figure out what to do with them.
They found PAL and fell in love with the operation.
Maddie volunteers there a few weekends a month, and walks the dogs and holds them while they have their picture taken for the adoption website, Nilsen said.
“I love dogs and try to help them,” Maddie said.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.
