NY girl sells paintings to raise money for diabetic alert dog

Emma Brussell really wanted a diabetic alert dog for Christmas last year, but it never came. So this 9-year-old took matters into her own hands, and decided to sell her paintings in order to save enough money for one.

"I asked Santa for one, but he didn't bring me one because his elves couldn't. They didn't have that kind of magic," Emma told FOX 5.

Her mother, Kelly Brussell, recalled Emma's first painting. "She made a tree. And we just thought it was cute, you know? We said, 'Oh, this is adorable. She thinks she's going to save money.' So we put it on Facebook, and the next thing I knew that weekend, an old high school friend showed up and paid her $100 for her first painting."

Emma continued to sell paintings and save up, and she reached her goal when an anonymous donor gave her the $15,000 she needed to get a dog named Rufus. Rufus will finish his training in April, but in the meantime, Emma formed a nonprofit and continues to paint for other kids with Type 1 diabetes.

"Diabetes dogs can really help, and I want other people to experience diabetes dogs," said Emma. "I'm asking people for donations to donate to other people who have diabetes, because I want to buy other people diabetes dogs."

Watch the video to see Emma put the heart in art.