July 3, 2008

Mimi Ausland, a 12-year-old, started a trivia Web site to feed homeless cats and dogs Kibbles.(Photo Courtesy of Robb Kerr)

BEND, Ore. -- What began as fun and games for 12-year-old Mimi Ausland has turned into the serious business of aiming to feed dogs and cats in shelters throughout the country.

Mimi was playing an Internet vocabulary game with her parents called FreeRice.com, which donates rice to the United Nations Food Program to help end hunger for every correct answer.

Perhaps it was words like generosity, charitable, altruistic, or philanthropic that sparked the idea. Perhaps it was just the musings of a very big-hearted young lady who loves animals.

“I don’t quite remember my train of thought,” said the ambitious 6th grader. “But I do remember that I always wanted to do something bigger and, after playing this game for awhile I made the connection that I could use the computer so people all over the world could help feed animals.”

Mimi and her parents planned for about four months before launching the Web site FreeKibble.com. It resembles the FreeRice.com site in that she offers a daily trivia question with a multiple choice answer.

Instead of helping to end hunger among people, however, she aims to feed all the animals in the shelters across the country. For every person who plays, no matter if their answer is right or wrong, she donates 10 pieces of Kibble to a designated shelter.

While the project involved the whole family, “My mom did the drawings, like the dog and cat. My dad designed the Web site,” Mimi said. The site belongs to Mimi, who is in charge of finding sponsors, serving as a spokesperson and generating media attention for the site.

NBC nightly news will feature Mimi in their “Making a Difference” segment this Friday or next, depending on how the day’s news plays out.

“She has enthusiasm, passion, and she knows what she’s doing,” said Richard Thompson, the founder of Zootoo.com, which is donating all the Kibble that Mimi generates through her Web site.

While Zootoo helps a lot of shelters around the country, Thompson says he was drawn to Mimi’s operation because it encourages the next generation to help pets.

“Right now, the generation of primary volunteers out there didn’t grow up with the Internet,” Thompson said. “In fact, a lot of shelters don’t even have a computer, so to get the next generation out there helping is good for the sheltering community.”

As part of that next generation, Mimi has been on board for years volunteering her time at the Humane Society of Central Oregon. She walks dogs and cleans out litter boxes.

To date, FreeKibble.com has donated 740 pounds of Kibble to the HSCO. It takes about a half-pound of Kibble to feed a dog per day. Mimi’s efforts have been feeding the dogs in her hometown shelter for two months and counting.

Next on Mimi’s list: feeding the cats at her local shelter through FreeKibbleKat.com and providing food to Furrytale Farms in Bainbridge Island, Washington, which takes in rescue animals and pets that are victims of foreclosures.

“My goal, and I really thought this was going to happen and it did, is that we could feed all the dogs here at HSCO,” Mimi recalls. “And then I thought that if we could do that, we could go on to other animal shelters.

“I really wanted that to happen. I had no idea that it was going to be this big.”

Already, Mimi has an international audience helping her raise Kibble for the shelters -- friends of the family who live in Spain have been passing along the word and playing often.

“I don’t think we’ll run out of Kibble,” Thompson said. “But if she gets that big, we’ll have to buy another pet food factory.”

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