A tween from Seaford, NY on Long Island is one of six winners of the national Pets Add Life Poetry Contest. Read her poem here, inspired by her pet guinea pig, Giggles.
Melina, a seventh-grader from Seaford, NY (pictured here with her guinea pig Giggles), was one of six young winners of the Pets Add Life 4th Annual Children’s Poetry Contest.
The national competition, founded by the American Pet Products Association, received more than 1,200 entries this year—poems written by kids in third through eighth grade to express the joy and happiness that their pets bring to their lives.
Winners from each grade level, named April 10, received a $250 gift certificate for pet products and a byline in “everydog Magazine.” Additionally, the winning students’ classrooms each received a $1,000 scholarship to spend on pet-related education.
Below is Melina’s winning poem:
Pets Bring Joy
Pets bring joy
To either girl or boy
A dog or a cat
A fish or a rat
They are always there
And they always care
You run and play
and frolic all day
They don’t mind if you’re shy or outgoing
All they care is that you are there
They might live in a tank or a cage
but they don’t rage
When you’re sad or lonely your pet is there
to comfort you and to share their love
They might not talk back
but they listen to every word that you can pack
In their heart they do not want to part
with the girl or boy who gives them so much joy
Since you love them
they act like a gem
And bring you joy
with just a little toy
To read the other winning poems and learn more about the contest, visit petsaddlife.org/poetry_contest.
