TUPELO – The handwritten letter, as innocent as the girl who wrote it, made a heart-tugging plea to anyone who loves animals.
"Hello! My name is Caroline. And I love animals. I want to help animals that don’t have any food. But I need your help. I want to take food to The Animal Shelter. Please send your change to me in the envelope. Then I will go to Wal-Mart and buy food. I will send you a picture of me at the Shelter. Thank you for helping me. Anna Caroline Miller 6 years old."
The letter got results: $13.71 worth of change.
"I was getting money from everybody," said Caroline, a Parkway Elementary School first-grader who wrote the letter this past summer.
Caroline used the change to buy a bag of puppy food at Trace Feed and Farm Supply. As a reward for her good deed, she was given a second bag. She promptly delivered the bags to the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society.
Even at a young age Caroline has a passion for animals, making sure they have a home or they have enough to eat. If she could, she’d bring home every dog, cat or any other creature abandoned.
"This summer, I had to take some of her stuffed animals and put them under our couch and in the closet so she could rescue them," said Caroline’s mother, Beth Miller. "When she sees animals that have been run over, she starts crying in the car. It breaks her little heart."
Caroline’s interest in animals may have been inspired by her father, Tupelo policeman Lee Miller.
“He used to be a K-9 officer,” Caroline said. “We used to have a German shepherd.”
The German shepherd, according to Beth, was retired from Tupelo’s K-9 unit and is now living in Florida.
The Millers own two dogs, but would have a lot more
animals at their home near the Lee-Pontotoc county line if Caroline had her way.

“She’s been asking for a horse,” said Beth.
“And I’ve been asking for a gerbil,” Caroline added.
Others influences for Caroline have been television programs about animals.
“I go to my room and I turn on the TV, and I like to see those shows about habitat and rescuing animals,” Caroline said. “I really want to make a habitat.”
Caroline laughed as she recalled seeing STEVE IRWIN, the late wildlife expert and Animal Planet personality, host a birthday party for a turtle.
Since IRWIN’s death last year, his 9-year-old daughter Bindi has become a TV personality with her own wildlife program on the Discovery Kids network.
“Caroline can’t understand why she can’t sleep with a python and Bindi can,” said Beth.
Caroline is making plans for her next effort to collect loose change and buy more pet food for the Humane Society. This time, she wants to donate food for the cats and older dogs so they won’t feel left out.
She’s setting a lofty goal: $100. That’s a lot of change to raise, but Caroline believes she has a plan that’ll help her reach the goal.
"I'm gonna try to do a little lemonade stand," she said.