Cool Kid Emily Lopez helps find cats, dogs their forever home

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Our ABC7 Cool Kid for Thursday, Jan. 12, is Emily Lopez, who helps save the lives of dogs and cats at the No-Kill Los Angeles Pet Adoption Center.

The 17-year-old Hamilton High School senior's primary duty is to take care of the animals, which she said she can relate to.

"When you get a dog or cat here, you're saving a life," she said. "I have more tendencies toward cats because I'm more shy and more kind of calm and reserved toward people."

Her compassion to help animals runs deep in her family. She said her grandparents own a veterinary practice in Mexico, so she was always around animals, especially cats.

With the help of committed volunteers such as Emily, every year more than 2,000 dogs and cats from the NKLA shelter find their forever homes.

"We group together with other rescue groups to get Los Angeles to a no-kill status," said Katie O'Shaughnessy, with the NKLA shelter. "We foster, we adopt, we spay and neuter, we educate about microchipping. So we do a variety of things because together it is going to take all of us to save them all."

Emily recently returned from her winter break to get what she said is the best news she's had so far this year.

"There's a whole new array of animals so that's amazing because they're all loved. I just want them to all go home and be loved by someone," she said.

She's a Cool Kid with a big heart for her furry friends.