When Spencer Paige was just a toddler, his family adopted a Golden Retriever-Irish Setter mix from their local shelter. The two of them grew up together at their home in Brunswick, Georgia, with the dog– named Cuddles — providing countless hours of playtime with Spencer.

It only seems a given that, as Freekibble.com announced a contest for kids to write an essay about why their local shelter is special, Spencer, now 8, composed a moving essay to thank the Glynn County Animal Services for Cuddles.

“My shelter is special to me because they keep dogs like Cuddles safe and feed them until they get adopted to families like mine,” writes Spencer. “He makes me feel good when I come home from school. I think Cuddles is a lifesaver for me. Sometimes when I come home from school, I feel kinda sad and tired. Cuddles is there to greet me with slobbery kisses and a happy wagging tail.”

Freekibble.com founder Mimi Ausland, 13, was moved by Spencer’s words. “This one I absolutely loved,” says Mimi. “I love the part that Cuddles is a lifesaver to him, and I can relate to the part about being sad and tired after school. His essay makes me want to go over there and give him a hug.”

Mimi picked Spencer’s essay as one of five winners of the Kibble Krusaders Kontest, chosen from almost 500 entries from all over the country, and earning the Glynn County shelter $1000 worth of Halo Dinner Party. Says proud mom Vicki Nixon: “He’s a smart little guy.”

Spencer, a third-grader, lives in a home filled with animals: Cuddles, four rescued cats and a litterbox-trained bunny. A favorite pastime of Spencer and Cuddles is visiting the beach and playing fetch with a tennis ball. “Two years ago you couldn’t say beach around him because he would go nuts,” says Spencer. “He would start running around the house and and he would tell us he was ready to go.”

Spencer frequently visits the home of his aunt, Becky Kryos, who helped him write the essay, a home where he plays with her five rescued cats. And Spencer’s mom notes that when there is a stray in the neighborhood, people know to bring the animal to their home. Naturally, this ethos has rubbed off. As Spencer writes: “Maybe more people need to visit their animal shelter to find a lifesaver like Cuddles. I think shelter animals know they are special and that they can give love and kindness to a person as much as a person can give food and shelter and love to them.”