Young people learn responsible pet care during visits to County Shelter

Just because the public schools have shortened their summer schedule, doesn’t mean that we haven’t had fun with the kiddos!

We were busy in June and July!

We started out with our monthly Dog Ears group on June 17. This is our monthly reading program in which young readers sign up to come and read to shelter dogs. It’s a half hour reading session and then we meet different dogs and talk about their stories and needs. So fun!

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 blast meeting with small groups of students of different ages. All of us sat on the floor while super dog Tina slowly and lovingly worked the room, going from student to student giving rubs and kisses.

There was a little girl who was terrified 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 bit about pet responsibility.

The following week we had more than 50 young people visit the shelter from the City of Aiken’s Summer Camp for their “Dog Days of Summer” program. On Thursday, we had the five- to nine-year-old group and on Friday the ten- to twelve-year-old group visited us.

Each group was able to sit with the shelter dogs, at their kennels, and read to the dogs. Some just talked to them, some gave them treats, and all enjoyed themselves. The counselors were all dog lovers, too — 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 in a three-month-old puppy named Breezy. Little Breezy was brought in with multiple broken toes on his front paw. He was so sad, and the children brightened his spirits. Breezy had a cast on his paw and a cone on his head, but it didn’t slow him down. He kissed everyone in the room!

It is really important to teach young people in our community about proper pet care. With the staggering number of strays entering our shelter, we want to plant the seed in each of these young people that keeping your pets safe and healthy is vital for the community.

The children met so many homeless pets and listened to their stories. Terrier mix Beck’s owner died; sweet Parker was brought in with an embedded collar; and stray Mastiff mix Tommy is a huge teddy bear who is sad to be alone. However, black and white Smokey was the real heartbreaker. He is our longest resident and kept putting his paws out to touch the kids. It was really very sweet.

Remember when we learned to wear our seatbelts? People came to our schools and taught us. Or when we watched the commercials with the egg in the pan: “This is your brain 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 the important five pet needs – water, food, shelter, exercise and LOVE!

Their lives are in our hands.

By Kathy Cagle, FOTAS Programs Coordinator