BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Staff Writer
Ellana Early turned seven-years-old on Friday, Nov. 27 and had her focus on animals for the special day.
Early, a first grader at Clarkston Elementary, celebrated her birthday with a Pet Adoption theme and handed out furry stuffed animals to her friends for adoption as they drove by.
Along with the stuffed animals, they also received a bag of surprises which included a cookie to frost and decorate, a collar craft, a little blanket and an adoption certificate to fill out.
Early also asked her guest to bring donations for a local animal shelter.

“She was full of smiles and the turnout was great,” said parents, Jeanette and Elvert Early. “She was so excited to see all of the caring friends and family that helped makes this experience and birthday one to remember.”
Ellana took the donations to Michigan Animal Rescue League in Pontiac during the weekend after her birthday.
“The rescue allowed for her to visit with the cats in their cage-free environment for over an hour,” Jeanette said. “The staff were extremely grateful for all of the donations, and Ellana had so much fun playing with some furry friends.”
The family has an 8-year-old beagle named Eva, they adopted when she was just a few months old. They also have a Frenchie, named Jazzie, who is one-year-old.
“She loves dogs and enjoys playing vet with our two dogs,” Jeanette said. ” She came across a pet adoption theme and was so excited to have a party. I had to explain, because of COVID, we couldn’t have the typical birthday party this year and she was so sad.”
So, they turned it into a birthday parade and decided to also ask for donations to help animals who didn’t have a home yet.
“I reached out on Facebook asking if local shelters in hopes of finding one that we don’t currently know about so we could help them,” Jeanette said, adding a friend referred her to Michigan Animal Rescue League.
Due to COVID restrictions, they couldn’t attend tours but they were able to play with the cats.
Jeanette added Ellana and her three siblings, Ethaniel, Jayden and Josiah, are going to start volunteering to play with the animals at the shelter after restrictions are lifted.
Jeanette shared she and Elvert introduce their children to ways to help the community.
“Over the years we’ve taken stuffed animals, homemade crafts and more to local nursing homes and assisted living centers,” Jeanette said. “We’ve collected coats and winter gear for the homeless and donated many toys and more to the Baldwin Center in Pontiac. We are blessed and find it important to show our children that there are always ways to help out and bring hope to others.”
She added, they are now thinking about other ways to help continue donating items to the shelter and the animals there.