Kids sell their toys to save their dog Gizmo

'Yeah, Mom ... you taught me something'

May 31, 1997
Web posted at: 11:38 p.m. EDT (2338 GMT)

FOND DU LAC, Wisconsin (CNN) -- Ten-year-old Kimberly Wals says that when she stretches out on the top bunkbed in her bedroom, Gizmo will settle comfortably on the lower bunk and listen patiently to everything she says.

Gizmo, a 10-year-old black lab, was adopted by the Wals family nine years ago and has become so dear to them that he is to be the beneficiary of a most unusual rummage sale.

Gizmo has bone cancer in his right front leg. It bends at the lowest joint, near the paw, and will not bear weight.

Gizmo needs an operation and chemotherapy to survive, and they will cost $1,500.

"I heard my mom and dad talking about it," Kimberly says, "and they said that they wanted to put him to sleep. So me and my cousin thought of this."

"This" is a sale -- a toy sale. Silly toys with names like "Chicken Limbo." Puzzles, books, games and lots of stuffed animals.

"Most of the stuffed animals are mine," Kimberly says. "Some of it is my cousin Kelsey's, and my brothers'."

"I walked into the living room," says Kimberly's mother, Theresa, "and they had piles and piles of toys. When you see a commercial on TV, it's 'Mom, I want that.' And now they're saying, 'Mom, I'm ready to give some of that away and let's help Gizmo instead.'"

So far, their sale has raised between $150 and $200, almost literally a quarter at a time. Obviously, there's a long way to go, but their crusade has earned a lot of respect -- and support -- from the community.

One man gave them a set of tickets to a Milwaukee Brewers game to sell. A travel agency donated a plane ticket around the world.

"You just always wonder if you're doing the right job on the kids, if you're teaching them the right thing," says Theresa Wals. "All of a sudden they're saying, 'Yeah, Mom, you did. You taught me something.'"

Gizmo is scheduled to have his operation in a few weeks.

Related site:

• Fond du Lac

Sound off on our message boards Tell us what you think! You said it...

© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.