Little girl with big heart could make big difference

By Eric Rucker, KTVZ.COM

Mimi Ausland's passion for dogs was eveident well before she got her friend, Aspen.  

Even at the age of 7, Mimi was donating whatever change she could to the Humane Society of Central Oregon.

She was too young to volunteer, but her desire to help, even then, was obvious.

"We would get money in our donation envelopes and there would be change in there," shelter official Lynne Ouchida said Tuesday.  

At first, Ouchida thought it was an elderly woman making the donations. It turns out it was a little girl with a big heart.

Now at the "old" age of 11, Mimi has taken her love to help to a new level.

With the help of her parents and local sponsors, the Seven Peaks School student has started her own Website, called www.freekibble.com.

Here's how it works: The site has a daily trivia question. Each answer, wrong or right, donates ten pieces of kibble to the Humane Society of Central Oregon (www.hsco.org).

"My ultimate goal is to get lots more shelters and the humane societies can use that money they use for the dog food on different things," Ausland said.  

An idea shelter officials say actually is quite accurate.

"It's not only a way for her to help out," Ouchida said. "It removes a huge stress for the Humane Society of Central Oregon."

The idea came from the Website www.freerice.com, where game-players donate grains of rice to the United Nations' World Food Program.

Tuesday was the first day the freekibble.com Website went public, and it brought in more than 2,000 donations already.

With one sponsor to supply the food and others to help with keeping up the Website, the idea it may grow beyond initial belief isn't only a possibility, it's likely.

So is that a problem Mimi's father, Kelly Ausland, is afraid of?

"No it isn't," he told me. "That's a good problem to have."

The family says they have thought of the situation, but say they'll deal with it when and if the time comes.

For now though, the sky's the limit, with no limit to how many Central Oregon dogs this young girl can help.

"Did you ever think an 11-year-old girl could make a difference like this?" I asked Mimi.

"Yeah - yeah," she replied with a smile.