LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Henderson pre-teen is spending his birthday giving back to the community in a big way.
This will be the 6th year Roman Pandullo will celebrate his birthday by donating money, food and supplies to the City of Henderson Animal Care and Control Shelter.
Roman is turning 13 on July 31. So far this year, he’s raised more than $2,000.
"I want to help all the dogs around the Vegas area and the Clark County community area to have good lives, like my dogs have, a safe life, happy, and with families, too,” Roman said.
His charitable efforts have grown over the years. In his first year, Roman donated about 275 pounds of dog food. He says he donated close to 9,000 pounds in 2022.
Every year, Roman gets help from community and business donations. Help pours in from law enforcement, Cardinale Mazda, Tractor Supply and more. He’s hoping for greater success in 2023.
“When you're giving to others, especially pets that don't have families, it just feels like you're giving like them love and support,” Pandullo said.
“Roman is an awesome kid. I mean, kudos to his parents for raising such an awesome young man,” said Danielle Harney, the Animal Control Administrator for the City of Henderson.
Harney says Roman’s donations have gone a long way.
“Every year about this time, we get a phone call from Roman's parents saying, Hey, we're here to drop off all the goodies. And literally, I mean, it's pallets full of food and treats and toys and enrichment items for the dogs and the cats and just everything,” Harney said.
The financial donations help the shelter care for the medical and mental well-being of the animals. The shelter’s budget can only pay for basic care like spay and neuter.
“A lot of our animals here at the shelter are seniors, or they come in, hit by a car or have some kind of medical concern that brought them here to begin with,” Harney added. “When we have these kinds of donations, it allows us to go above and beyond and give these animals care that they normally wouldn't be able to receive at a shelter like ours.”
Roman and his family run a Facebook page called PET HELP, where the community can find information on how to help the cause. You can also donate to the shelter in Roman's name.
