11-year-old boy spends 100 hours reading to pets at his local animal shelter

Sr Digital Curator

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —

An 11-year-old boy in Florida was recently recognized for spending 100 hours reading to pets at his local animal shelter.

Nehemiah Turner logged 100 volunteer hours at The Jacksonville Humane Society over more than two years with his grandmother, Action News Jax reported.

“Soothing, feels good, calm, comforted animals, not like a whole bunch of barking is happening,” Nehemiah told the news outlet.

He joined the organization’s Pawsitive Reading program in 2024 and was determined to reach 100 volunteer hours, a first for a child, JHS said in a Facebook post.

Nehemiah particularly loves reading to dogs in the “hopes that reading helps them feel more calm and find homes faster.” He read to a dog named Hopper during every visit until he was adopted after more than a year in the shelter.

Jacksonville Humane Society CEO Lawrence Nicolas said that Nehemiah’s recognition is well-deserved.

“Nehemiah’s story perfectly embodies our core belief at the Jacksonville Humane Society that generosity breeds joy,” Nicolas told PEOPLE in a statement. “In a world where we’ve become increasingly reliant on screens, here is a young man who quietly set a goal to help homeless animals by reading books and, in doing so, has inspired his entire community.”