Senior Gabrial Kyttle’s love of helping animals is apparent in her everyday actions.

One time that stands out in particular is when she searched for her neighbor’s German Shepard after it jumped through a closed glass window because it was spooked during a thunderstorm.

“He was running up and down his street covered in blood,” she said.

Kyttle said the dog ran toward her when it saw her getting out of a car.

“He had cut his paws and right above his eyebrow. I ran inside to get a leash and by the time I had come back outside he was spooked by the thunder so I went searching for him in the rain.”

Kyttle’s love of animals is not uncommon at Akins. Many students in the Green Tech Academy were attracted to the elective classes it offers because they involve working with animals.

Senior Gabrial Kyttle is passionate about helping animals. She said she lives by the saying

“Animals don’t have a voice so you won’t stop hearing mine.”

Students in Green Tech do all kinds of work. Some are in FFA or Horticulture or the veterinary tech program.

Sophomore Julia Clay volunteers every other Saturday at the Capitol of Texas Zoo.

“I work at the Capitol of Texas Zoo in Bastrop and I decided to do this work because I love animals and want to pursue a career working with animals. This provides me with an opportunity to work closely and safely while enjoying myself. One animal I remember helping was a group of baby Coatimundis. They had just been born and removed from the mother. So I was in a group of people that had shifts feeding the six babies. We would feed them every 2 hours.”

Some veterinary clinics seek out volunteers to help with some of the labor of caring for animals. The time, money, and physical work they do helps animals and gives the volunteer a sense of pride in knowing they helped an animal in need.

For some Green Tech students, this kind of volunteer work also gives them a chance to practice for a real job in this eld of education.

“I decided to help animals and people through Austin Lost and Found Pets because I feel animals don’t have a voice to speak up for themselves,” Kyttle said. “It’s our duty to speak up for those in need which include animals.”

Some students do work outside of school as well. For some students its community service hours for a class. Others volunteer because they just plain love animals.

Freshman Lilli Casas said she volunteers because she has always wanted to help animals since she was little.

“I remember helping raise a Black Leopard cub from when it was born until it was about 3 months, “Casas said, “I played with her, bottle fed her and made her super friendly.”

Some places where volunteers are accepted are Austin Lost and Found Pets, Emancipet, Austin Animal Center.