6-year old-girl starts lemonade stand to raise money for retired K9 officer

READING, Pa. (FOX 29) - A 6-year-old girl started a lemonade stand to raise money for a retired Reading K9 officer's medical bills.

"This is crazy," said 6-year-old Mia Montalvo. She’s funny, energetic and ready for TV.

"I had to put this microphone on me," she said before the interview with FOX 29's Shawnette Wilson. Mia also has a million-dollar face.

In two days, Mia turned 50 cent cups of lemonade into $2,400. 

"I love puppies. I love German shepherds, too," she said. She fell in love with Reading K9 Rocky, a German shepherd, who is retired, sick and has a lot of medical bills.

Her family read about him in the newspaper. Mia asked her grandmother about setting up a lemonade stand.

"She said that German shepherd. I was like you mean the cop dog? She said yeah. I said good idea and we just ran with it," said her grandmother Maria Young.  Word spread quickly about Mia's mission.

"I had a sign and it was all decorated," she said.  

"I heard the sirens that's what I first heard. I was like oh my gosh,” she said.  Cell phone video recorded by The Friends of Reading Police K9 Unit shows a caravan of police cars pulling up and K9s pulling up.

Officer Joshua Faust is the training officer for the city of reading K9 Unit.

"We had to go out there and show support for her since he's doing that for us. It was awesome," said Officer Faust. “It means a lot because he did work in the city and the community really reached out to find out how he was doing," he said about Rocky.

Mia's parents are so proud of their little girl.

"To give back and to have compassion. We try to instill those values in Mia from early on," said her mother, Frankie Young. Her father, Eric Montalvo, added,” She loves dogs. She loves animals period but the fact that she wanted to help out, her heart is huge."

The money Mia raised will help care for and cover medical bills for Reading Police Department’s retired K9. The city’s fund doesn’t cover them once they’ve retired. If you wish to donate, please click here.