Just because public schools shortened their summer hours doesn’t mean we didn’t have fun with the kids.
We were busy in June and July.
We started with our monthly Dog Ears group on June 17th. This is our monthly reading program where young readers sign up to come read to shelter dogs. It’s a half hour reading session, then we meet different dogs and talk about their stories and needs. So funny!
On June 22, a super sweet dog named Tina and I visited Oakwood Windsor Elementary School. They have a summer program for students. We had a great meeting with small groups of students of different ages. We all sat on the floor while super dog Tina worked slowly and lovingly around the room, going from student to student rubbing and kissing.
There was a little girl who was afraid of dogs but by the end of our visit she was petting Tina, telling her she loved her and even drew Tina a picture. All the students made videos with Tina for Facebook saying, “Adopt Tina!”
These kids were incredibly well behaved, asked great questions and I think they all learned a little about pet responsibility.
The following week, more than 50 youth from the City of Aiken Summer Camp visited the shelter for their Dog Days of Summer program. On Thursday, we received the group of 5 to 9 year olds and on Friday, the group of 10 to 12 year olds visited us.
Each group was able to sit with the shelter dogs, in their kennels, and read to the dogs. Some just talked to them, some gave them treats and everyone had a great time. The instructors were also all dog lovers – and they had as much fun as the kids!
After reading to the dogs, we took the groups to the new PAWS building and brought a three month old puppy named Breezy. Little Breezy was brought in with several broken toes on his front paw. He was so sad and the children cheered him up. Breezy had a cast on his paw and a cone on his head, but that didn’t slow him down. He hugged everyone in the room!
It is really important to teach the youth in our community how to properly care for pets. With the overwhelming number of stray dogs entering our shelter, we want to plant the seed in each of these young people that keeping your pets safe and healthy is vital to the community.
The children met many homeless animals and listened to their stories. Terrier mix owner Beck has died; sweet Parker was brought in with a built-in collar; and Tommy, a stray mastiff mix, is a huge teddy bear who is sad to be alone. However, Smokey in Black and White was the real heartbreaker. He is our longest resident and always reached out with his paws to touch the children. It was really very sweet.
Remember when we learned to wear our seat belts? People came to our schools and taught us. Or when we watched the commercials with the egg in the frying pan: “It’s your brain that’s on drugs.” » Well, now it’s our turn to influence these young minds to make a change. Take care of your pets. Love them and meet their needs. Our camp kids learned about the five important needs of pets: water, food, shelter, exercise, and love.
Their lives are in our hands.