A 10-year-old boy from Texas is using his musical talent to provide comfort for dogs in need. Yuvi Agarwal, who is about to enter the fifth grade, plays the piano for the four-legged residents at the Houston Pets Alive animal shelter. He visits them once a week. It was partly Yuvi’s own dog, Bozo, that gave him the idea.
“When I play the piano or when I play music just on my speakers or something, my dog just always just relaxes, lies down and just listens to the music,” the boy told WGRZ.
Yuvi also had a chance to work with shelter animals in school through Citizens for Animal Protection. By reading out loud, he was able to make nervous dogs feel more at peace. He wondered if there were other forms of therapy he could try.
“I decided to basically play music for the animals,” he explained. “Definitely not drums, a melodious instrument such as piano, guitar, steel pan, and that will reduce their anxiety.”
With the support of his parents, Yuvi created the concept for Wild Tunes, an organization that he hopes to grow in the future.
“I want to expand it and eventually make it into a nationwide initiative where people can just openly participate,” he said. “And they just need to love animals and be able to play a melodious instrument.”
For now, it’s mostly just Yuvi playing at the shelter. Not only do the dogs seem to enjoy his visits, but they also participate by barking along with the music!
Priyanka, Yuvi’s mother, was the one who motivated the boy to bring his idea to life with an action plan. However, she says that he’s done everything else on his own.
“As parents, we’re really proud of how he came up with this whole concept of Wild Tunes,” she said. “He came up with the name, he came up with the design.”
Watch one of Yuvi’s shelter performances in the video below.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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