He was eight years old and there were several older boys in front of him. They were throwing a kitten like a ball.
It was November 2024, and Zayin Berry was at Somerton Skateboard Park, Arizona, when he saw some guys mistreat the little animal.
Zayin immediately realized he had to do something.
So he had an idea.
He offered the boys their skateboard in exchange for the kitten.
The boys accepted.
They took the skateboard and Zayin managed to take away the little animal.
The kitten was dirty, he was struggling and needed care. Zayin brought him to his mother and, when he realized that his conditions did not improve, the family turned to the Humane Society of Yuma.
He was diagnosed with an infection of the upper respiratory tract and one of the eyes was so compromised that he had to be removed surgically.
When they explained to Zayin that his new friend would lose an eye, the child was especially interested in something: that survived.
His mother said that, for Zayin, it was okay, provided Peaches could live, because he had become his best friend.
That kitten was called Peaches.
Peaches surpassed surgery and care, he remained with only one eye and also found his definitive family: that of the same child who had given up the skateboard to save him.
Peaches was adopted by the Berry family and between him and Zayin a strong bond was created.
The story, however, retained a small surprise in Zayin.
The Humane Society of Yuma and skateboard dealer Zumiez gave him a gift card to replace the table he had given. Zayin could build a new skateboard as he wanted.
But the most important recognition came the following year.
In 2025 ASPCA named Zayin "Kid of the Year". The award was presented to him on October 9, during the ASPCA Humane Awards at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Zayin was nine years old, but he was eight when he saved Peaches.
Everything began in a skate park, in front of a situation in which an eight-year-old could feel too small to intervene.
Zayin did not use force.
He found another solution.
He lost a skateboard.
Peaches, thanks to that exchange, had the opportunity to continue to live.
And what Zayin had sacrificed to save an unknown animal eventually became the price of a friendship he was not looking for.