March 8, 2009

Ten-year-old Monica Plumb is spearheading a fundraising project that provides pet oxygen masks to various fire departments. (Photo Courtesy of Wendy Plumb)

10-Year-Old Girl Breathes Life into Pets: After hearing about pets dying from smoke inhalation during house fires, a 10-year-old Virginia girl now is raising money to donate oxygen masks to fire departments across the nation. So far 20 departments have been outfitted.

RICHMOND, Va. -- At the humble age of 10, Monica Plumb has already established her own purpose in life, breathing life into dying pets across the country.

She likes dancing, hanging out with friends and playing basketball, but Monica, of Richmond, Va., also sets aside time to raise money for small fire departments, providing them with oxygen masks for rescued pets.

"I always wanted to try and help animals and when I saw this clip on the news, I thought that oxygen masks would be a really good thing to raise money for," Monica told Zootoo Pet News.

The fifth-grader is referring to a local news report on a household fire, in which several pets suffered, and eventually died, from smoke inhalation. When Monica saw that clip in the fall of 2008, her mother Wendy Plumb says, "something clicked" in her daughter's mind.

Plumb says Monica initiated setting up collection cans at local businesses herself, by visiting restaurants and stores that supported her cause. After the cans are placed on storefront counters, a lot of the work took care of itself.

"She did all the work herself," Plumb said. "This made us realize, her love for animals was not a passing phase. This is something she really wanted to do."

Monica has since donated pet oxygen masks to around 20 fire departments, both locally and located as far away as upstate New York. Each kit, which comes with canine and feline fitting masks in three sizes, costs around $58. With each package, Monica includes a carrying case, valued at an additional $22.

Monica personally contacted the Powhatan County Fire Department, in Powhatan, Va., last year, according to Phil Warner, assistant fire chief.

"She just said that she wanted to tackle the project of getting pet oxygen masks to the fire department," he said.

The fire department had witnessed pet fatalities from "time-to-time" in previous years, Warner said, but couldn't realistically consider purchasing pet oxygen masks.

"With our budget, we couldn't afford that sort of thing," he explained. "We're an all-volunteer agency and that wasn't really a high priority for us."

The Powhatan Fire Department has yet to utilize the oxygen masks, but it's only a matter of time before they come in handy, Warner says.

"We go to a number of house fires, especially in the winter, and something like that will certainly happen. We're fortunate, though, that we haven't had to use them yet. That's a good thing."

Warner says when he realized how old Monica was, he was instantly taken aback by her charitable work.

"She's an exceptional child, absolutely. Very mature for her age," he said. "She came down to the station to deliver the masks and we had a nice little ceremony. She deserves everything she gets out of this, the press and all the attention. She is quite an inspiration for other young ladies and men."

Monica's efforts began to get noticed by local media last year; despite the attention, however, she appears focused on her long-term goal of becoming a veterinarian, something she has wanted "for as long as I can remember," Monica said.

Whenever the Plumb family brings their cat, Kitty Boo, to the veterinarian, Monica always stands by, hoping to pick up a tip or two.

"Kids always want to be vets, but we think that she will really do it," said Wendy Plumb. "She talks to our vet about what she needs to do to make it happen and she is working to keep her grades up."

Aside from her cat, Monica also owns three pet rats; if she had the choice of adopting a wild, exotic animal, she says she would opt for a wolf.

"I just think they are really cool and so cute," she said.

In the meantime, Monica says she enjoys providing for all the dogs and cats that might fall at the hand of house fires. Her friends are supportive of her work, she says, but none -- aside from one neighborhood boy who got in touch with her, hoping to help -- have officially joined the cause.

"People are all so grateful and are so happy to get the masks that it's just really cool," Monica said of her work.

Jim Monahan, assistant fire chief of the New Hartford Fire Department in New Hartford, N.Y., offered a similar sentiment. Monica reached out to the department after a local community member contacted her, suggesting the bureau might need some masks. It has since received several sets, though has not had to use any on injured animals.

"It's so nice to see someone, especially someone so young, making a donation like this," he said. "We always worry about the people in homes, and we tend to forget about the pets."

The masks can help the department make animals more of a first priority, Monahan added.

"They are certainly part of every-body's family," he said. "I know my family would be devastated if anything happened to our pets."

For more information about Monica's project, or to donate money to her cause, visit PetMask.com.

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