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Eloise \u201cLulu\u201d Peck with her grandparent’s dog Henry in a toy Porsche. Lulu was named the ASPCA\u2019s 2026 Kid of the Year. The honor will be accepted posthumously after her death at age 8 in the July 2025 flooding near Camp Mystic.<\/p>\n
Photo provided by Missy Peck<\/p>\n
Eloise \u201cLulu\u201d Peck did not wait until she was grown to help\u00a0animals<\/a>.<\/p>\n She sold lemonade on her Dallas block, where dogs drank free. She and her friends started a dog-walking business and decided part of what they earned should go to animal rescue. Sometimes Lulu walked the dogs without charging at all.<\/p>\n Dallas 8-year-old Eloise \u201cLulu\u201d Peck, who died in the 2025 Camp Mystic floods, will be honored Oct. 8 as the ASPCA\u2019s 2026 Kid of the Year for her love of animals.<\/p>\n Now the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has named the Dallas girl its 2026 Kid of the Year, an honor her family will accept posthumously.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Lulu, who died at age 8 in the July 2025 flooding near Camp Mystic<\/a> in the Texas Hill Country, will be honored Oct. 8 during the ASPCA Humane Awards luncheon at The Plaza Hotel in New York City.<\/p>\n For her mother, Missy Peck, the award recognizes the way Lulu lived while underscoring who will be missing from the ceremony.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish more than anything that she were the one walking into The Plaza, one of her favorite places, and receiving the award,\u201d Peck said. \u201cBut at the same time, there\u2019s something so incredibly beautiful about it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt really is a reminder that her eight years on Earth mattered,\u201d she said. \u201cThey mattered to a lot of people, a lot of animals, and her love mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n Each year, the ASPCA selects its Kid of the Year from nominations across the country, recognizing a young person who shows extraordinary compassion for animals and a commitment to helping them, said Matt Bershadker, president and CEO of the ASPCA.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n One of Lulu\u2019s lemonade-stand signs captured that spirit simply: \u201cLemonade is $5. Dogs Drink Free.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLulu\u2019s love for animals was simply part of who she was,\u201d Bershadker said. \u201cShe cared deeply for creatures big and small and showed a level of compassion that inspired the people around her.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: Remembering the girls and leaders of Camp Mystic lost to the Kerr County floods<\/a><\/p>\n A love for animals from the beginning<\/p>\n Peck said Lulu, who was born and raised in Dallas, seemed drawn to animals almost from birth.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n As a young child, Lulu repeatedly asked Santa for a puppy. She had grown close to Jack, a family dog who died when she was 2.<\/p>\n Years later came Ollie, the dog Lulu had long wanted.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were never just pets for Lulu,\u201d Peck said.<\/p>\n Her mother described Lulu as a deeply empathetic child. Animals, she said, seemed to give her daughter peace.<\/p>\n \u201cShe connected with them on a deeper level that is hard to explain,\u201d Peck said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Ollie died only months before Lulu. The family was heading to its ranch in West Texas when Ollie, still on a leash, became excited after seeing an animal, jumped from the vehicle and was killed, Peck said.<\/p>\n Not long afterward, Lulu looked at her mother and said something Peck has never forgotten.<\/p>\n \u201cMommy, I\u2019m not afraid of death.\u201d<\/p>\n Lulu explained that she believed Ollie was happy and playing in heaven.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s in heaven with Jesus, and I\u2019m not afraid at all,\u201d Peck recalled her daughter saying.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cShe had this otherworldly compassion,\u201d Peck said, \u201cand almost a sense that there\u2019s more to life, that life doesn\u2019t end with death.\u201d<\/p>\n Lulu also found ways to put that compassion into action.<\/p>\n In June 2025, after school let out and before she left for camp, Lulu and several friends started a neighborhood dog-walking business. Peck helped them make signs and spread the word.<\/p>\n Lulu suggested charging about $20 for a 30-minute walk and said some of the money should go to dog rescue.<\/p>\n The girls made about $45, Peck recalled.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But Lulu also walked plenty of dogs for free.<\/p>\n \u201cJust because it was fun,\u201d her mother said.<\/p>\n Lulu also set up lemonade stands with friends on their Dallas block, sometimes with Ollie nearby, offering lemonade to neighbors and free drinks and attention to dogs.<\/p>\n \u201cShe knew she didn\u2019t have to be an adult to make changes in the world, to spread love and compassion,\u201d Peck said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope people see that compassion doesn\u2019t have an age requirement,\u201d Bershadker said. \u201cLulu was only eight, but the kindness she showed animals made an impression on everyone around her.\u201d<\/p>\n Lulu is not the first child to receive the award posthumously. The honor was established in memory of Tommy P. Monahan, a 9-year-old Staten Island boy who died in a 2007 house fire while trying to save pets. In 2013, the ASPCA also honored 6-year-old Catherine Hubbard, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and had dreamed of creating an animal shelter.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n