More than 20 dogs from an animal shelter in Richmond, Virginia, recently found their forever homes, thanks to a group of thoughtful 7 and 8 year olds. Letters written by students in Ms. Jones’s 2nd-grade class helped convince pet adopters to give a special group of dogs—and one cat—a second look.

These weren’t ordinary letters. Each one was written from the point of view of a shelter dog or cat. 

“Hi, my name is Sleigh Ride. Do you want to adopt me?” read one letter, according to National Public Radio. “You can snuggle with me! I promise that I will be a good dog.”

Teacher Kensey Jones says she started the letter-writing project after volunteering at Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC). Most of the animals at the shelter find homes within a few weeks. But some of them remain there for months because they are older or not quite as well behaved as other dogs, making them harder to adopt out. Jones told Christie Peters, the director of the shelter, all about her idea for the project. Peters loved it.

Jones identified 23 dogs and one cat that had been at the shelter for a while. She gave their photos and descriptions to her students, who then wrote the letters and drew pictures of the animals. Each letter and drawing about a dog or cat was posted in front of that animal’s kennel at the shelter. Jones and her students hoped that the letters would convince people not to overlook these longtime shelter residents.

The plan worked. Most of the 24 animals have found homes of their very own. Jones says she hopes other teachers will have their students do something similar for animals in local shelters. As for the students, they’re excited about the effect that their letters have had.