I love dogs. When I see a dog across the street or around the corner, I try to cross the street or take a shortcut so I can pet it and play with it. Nothing gives me the everything-will-be-okay feeling more than a wet nose, a big doggy grin, and a wagging tail.

I respect anyone who goes out of their way to help any animal in need, but the person taking that extra step for the pup everyone else overlooked just makes me feel happy about the world.

So, you can imagine the disgusting squeal of adoration my poor roommate had to endure when I stumbled on this article.

Katherine Hawkins is only eight years old. She’s not an especially social little girl, but she loooves dogs. And like any good little kid, she begged and pleaded until her parents eventually caved in. They decided to go the more dog-friendly route and rescue a dog – a Golden Retriever, specifically – from an organization called, unsurprisingly, Adopt-A-Golden.

The pup Katherine chose was Rocky. He was an 18-month-old ball of fluff, all wags and happiness. But there was a problem; Rocky had been injured in a car crash, and his leg had never healed right. Vet bills being outrageous, as they usually are, the organization needed to raise $2200 for Rocky’s surgery. Most other families would have passed Rocky by with that kind of price tag, but Katherine was in love. So she proceeded to something about it. A lot of something.

Katherine saved up her allowance, sold just about everything her little 8-year-old hands could make, and got donations from everyone who knew she and Rocky had a chance. It didn’t take long for them to raise the money. Katherine and Tanner – renamed because Katherine insisted that Rocky was no name for such a sweetie – are now the bestest of buddies, and all because an 8-year-old decided to make a difference in a dog’s life.

All that said, I suppose it isn’t so bad that my newest role model is 12 years younger than me.