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A Savior of Animals
Junior Stephanie Ventriglia Stephanie has taken care of numerous injured and lost animals.
By AJ Gerardi
Assistant Editor
Junior Stephanie Ventriglia was outside with her mother and father in February celebrating the Eagles having just won the Super Bowl hours earlier.
They had just run into their neighbors when a giant, muddy Bernedoodle came jumping over. It had been raining so he was soaked. He wasn’t wearing a collar. Since there was nobody around to help the dog, Stephanie, who has taken care of numerous animals before, took charge of him.
Stephanie named the dog Rex because he was “raggy.”
“He was cute,” Stephanie said, “[but] dirty.”
Wondering if he had an electronic chip that would lead them to the owner, Stephanie and her father took him to the police station and animal hospital to check, but no luck.
Eventually, Stephanie decided to take Rex home. “We tried feeding him,” she said. “But he wouldn’t eat.”
Stephanie also gave him a bath. Figuring that the dog was a run-away, Stephanie posted a picture of him on Facebook and left her Dad’s cell phone number. It took less than 24 hours to find the owners.
When asked if the owners were relieved, Stephanie said, “Yes, they had a child [that] was really upset.”
According to the parents, Rex — whose real name is Boa — is scared of fireworks, and when the Eagles won the Super Bowl, the neighborhood set off fireworks to celebrate. This made Boa so frightened he bolted, ending up about a mile away, where Stephanie found him.
“I am so impressed that Stephanie rescued a dog, but didn’t tell anyone at school, because she doesn’t care about praise,” said one of her teachers, Mrs. Moldofsky, who is Director of the Literacy Institute. “She just wants to do the right thing.”
This isn’t the only time Stephanie, who has three cats and two dogs of her own, has proven herself an animal lover. She also has a history of finding injured animals and nursing them back to health.
Stephanie has found injured birds, squirrels and bunny rabbits and brought them home. After that, she takes them to the animal hospital for a check-up and to find out what to feed them. She keeps the animal in her bathroom in a shoebox, giving it food and a lamp for warmth. Once it is healthy, she releases the animal back into the wild.
When asked why she likes to take care of animals, Stephanie, who wants to have a career as a marine biologist, said, “It makes me so happy. I love animals. They're so cute.”
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