Dr. Lyndsay Klemens teaches kids about large-animal veterinary techniques during the LaPorte County Small Animal Shelter's first Animal Care Camp in June 2010.
So we survived our first Animal Care Camp for kids — in fact, it was a rousing success!
The camp was held at our LaPorte County Small Animal Shelter on June 15, 16 and 17. “What’s New, LaPorte?” was very kind to spend a day with us and post photos on the site. (Thanks, Dennis Proud, for your great photos!)
(Editor’s note: To view the photos, click on the following link:)
http://www.whatsnewlaporte.com/2010/06/17/lp-county-small-animal-shelter-hosts-animal-care-camp/
The camp has been a vision of mine for a long time, but my expertise is really not with kids. Don’t get me wrong — I love them, but I have limited experience with them.
There were so many things to prepare for, plus with our limited staff, we had to make sure day-to-day functions still continued at the shelter. So we needed a leader. Miranda Reeves fit that bill!
Miranda has a bachelor of science degree in animal behavior, trains dogs, volunteers at our shelter weekly and has lots of experience with the 4-H dog program in Porter County. When I pitched the idea of camp to her, she ran with it!
Miranda came up with a three-day plan, which included a day with small- and large-animal veterinarians. Dr. Lisa Polazzi taught pet first aid and the kids made their own pet first aid kits. Dr. Lyndsay Klemens then taught the structure of a horse using Molly (a horse very close to my heart — and my house).
The second day was all us: a day teaching about animal control and responsible pet ownership. We also were very fortunate to have a demo by LaPorte County Sheriff’s K-9 Officer Harlan Williams and his dog Hoggie. The kids really enjoyed seeing our Animal Control Officer Eric Hayed get taken down by Hoggie (Eric was in a protective suit)!
Day 3 included bandanna making, Dog and Suds Mobile Grooming with groomer Laurie Clark, and a pizza party provided by Wanna Pizza (good pizza!).
Each morning, the kids helped do kennel duties which included cleaning, getting food and water ready for all the animals, and tending to the animals’ beds, toys and treats. They truly experienced the day-to-day operations of the shelter.
We also give great thanks to Penny Kerr. Penny is the daughter of Sylvia Fitzgerald. Sylvia was a lifelong animal advocate who started the Protective Animal League in LaPorte, also known as PAL, many, many years ago. Sylvia passed away several months ago and Penny approached me a few weeks prior to camp and wanted to do something in memory of her mom. The first aid kits and all the supplies were paid for by Penny in her mom’s memory. Penny also treated for the pizza party!
I truly feel the kids enjoyed the camp, based on the feedback we received. We made a few mistakes, but for our first time, it was good! Camp could not have happened without the support of the LaPorte County Commissioners, who gave the green light to give it a try, all the support of everyone listed above and the wonderful shelter staff. You guys are the best! Looking forward to next year …
Paws till next time — Jane
JANE BERNARD is director of the LaPorte County Small Animal Shelter. Visit the shelter at 2855 W. Ind. 2. Hours are Monday, Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Or call 326-1637 or visit http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/IN89.html.
