Pupcakes raise money for dogs in poor health

Kristin Ostrowski loves her golden retrievers, Abby and Maggie, a spirited puppy and a family dog. But it was the adoption of her grandparents’ dog, Cubby, that left the biggest impression on her.

“I remember when we met Cubby at the [Plainfield] shelter,” Ostrowski said. “She was so scared. She was like, don’t come near me, don’t touch me. My grandparents think she’d been beaten or abused. After we left, we said, ‘we have to go back for Cubby.’”

So they did and now Ostrowski said Cubby is “the most loving, sweet, lick-you-to-death dog. It’s so sad seeing all these dogs that have been beaten or abused.”

Ostrowski, 13, said her experience with Cubby is what has inspired her to become involved with animal rescue. Two years ago, when she was a sixth-grader at Woodland Middle School, she needed community service hours for St. Paul the Apostle Church, where she attended.. She called Alyssa Hamrick,14, her friend since fifth grade.

“I was looking to help out animal shelters, and I came across Animal Education and Rescue in Libertyville,” Ostrowski said. “There was this dog, Josie, who was six months old and had a heart defect. I called Alyssa and we started brainstorming ways to fund raise for Josie.”

“Kristin wanted to come up with a way to fund raise, and I said, ‘why don’t we sell cupcakes? we can call it Pupcakes,’” Hamrick said. “It’s just a cute play on words.”

With help from their families, the middle schoolers made 106 cupcakes, sold for a dollar each from a cart they brought from class to class at Woodland Middle School.

“We thought we’d only make $106, but we ended up doubling it and then some,” Ostrowski said. The money went toward a wheelchair for Josie, paralyzed from the hips down, and the dog was soon adopted.

Hamrick thought that was all there would be to Pupcakes.

“I thought we’d do it for a year and that was it, but the kids at school who bought the cupcakes loved the idea and asked us to do it again,” she said.

The next year, the friends raised money for another dog, Mona. The Pupcakes poster read, “Mona is a 14-week-old Siberian husky. She has a health condition where she has daily seizures, and a bladder issue. Her owners can’t afford her medical bills.” Pupcakes raised $460 for Mona.

This year, their final year in middle school, the girls raised money for Echo, a border collie mix.

“Echo is 14 years old. He was born and raised at  [a] dog-food testing facility until it closed down,” said Sandy Kamen Wisniewski, founder of Animal Education and Rescue. “ When the facility closed, all of the animals were either euthanized or taken to shelters,” she said. “Echo was adopted by a young woman who had to give him up  because he had so many strange behavioral issues as a result of being isolated at the facility. He’s almost incapable of connecting with people. He’s emotionally distant and very anxious.”

Echo was adopted out again and brought back to Animal Education and Rescue due to his behavioral issues, until Wisniewski took him home with her. “I felt that at 13 years old he needed to live in peace.”

Wisniewski was unaware that Pupcakes was raising money for Echo this year. “[The funds] will probably be used for his medical care and medication, as well as the care that comes with aging,” she said.

The process behind Pupcakes involves the girls’ parents, teachers and friends. Their parents fund the cupcake supplies.

“We use boxed cupcake mix,” said Laurie Ostrowski, Kristin’s mom. “We go to Target and buy 10-12 boxes, and then we divide it up between friends. I asked for a double oven for Christmas, because I knew it was only a matter of time before Kristin said, ‘Let’s make the cupcakes again.’ We end up with cupcakes absolutely everywhere, every surface.”

Kristin said some friends decorate cupcakes with candy dog treats, or draw dog faces on top. “We try to keep it as simple as possible,” she said, noting that they decorated many with red and green sprinkles for the holidays this year. They ended up with 400 cupcakes.

“Personally, I like giving back to Animal Education and Rescue for what they’re doing for animals,” Alyssa said. “It brings me joy to give back. And now, there are other kids coming up with ideas to fund raise for animals. It feels good to inspire kids to help out with dog shelters.”

On a school level, it’s a long process to get Pupcakes approved. Angela Forlizzi, Kristin’s science teacher, was helpful by sending out emails and getting Pupcakes organized. From Dec. 19-21, “We were basically allowed to skip class and go from class to class selling the Pupcakes,” Kristin said.

“Kids in our hall [at Woodland] helped out a lot and volunteered,” Hamrick said. “We didn’t ask them, they offered to help and it was great to have their support.”

Altogether, Pupcakes has raised $1,100 for dogs during the girls’  three years at Woodland Middle School. They presented this year’s check for $400 to Wisniewski at Animal Education and Rescue Jan. 6. “I think that’s the most rewarding moment for [Kristin],” said Laurie Ostrowski. “It’s a very proud moment for me, as a mom.”

“[Kristin and Alyssa] are fabulous kids,” said Wisniewski. “We never approached them. They did this all on their own. These kids are an inspiration in giving to the community. These are girls that are going to be very important to our future.”

Kristin Ostrowski and her sister, Kayla, recently became members of AEAR’s youth group, and almost never miss an event. Hamrick and Kristin will be speaking about Pupcakes at the next youth group event.

“I like that [AEAR] doesn’t put a dog in a kennel and leave them there. I like that they use foster homes because the dogs are well-fed, cared for and loved,” Ostrowski said. “It helps that there are older kids [in the youth group] to teach the younger ones about how to approach an animal safely, like to hold out your hand six inches from a dog, and let the dog come to you.”

The friends hope to continue Pupcakes when they start high school, but with Ostrowski at Warren Township and Hamrick at Grayslake Central, they’re still trying to figure out how they can make it work. They are considering setting up booths at local farmers markets.

Ostrowski plans to continue volunteering with animal rescues. “Most people think of helping people before they think of helping animals,” she said. “I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but sometimes animals are left to fend for themselves. Sandy [Wisniewski] always says you have to give a voice to those who can’t speak for themselves.”