for the animals - Chemung County SPCA

Dog Safety Tips For Children
What To Do If a Strange Dog Comes Up To You
As the weather gets warmer, more people are enjoying the sunshine with their furry
friends. Now, more than ever, it’s important to teach your children, or the children you
love, how to interact with dogs. Here are a few tips courtesy of the American Kennel
Club on how children should approach dogs with owners and some more helpful tips on
what to do if a strange dog approaches you.
How to Greet a Dog
• Always walk slowly to the dog’s owner to ask if you can pet the dog.
• It’s important to receive permission before petting the dog. If the owner says “no,”
politely accept the answer, and don’t pet the dog.
• If the owner says “yes,” curl your hand into a closed fist with the back of your hand
facing upward. Extend your hand slowly to the dog.
• Allow the dog to sniff the back of your hand. We recognize people on sight; dogs
recognize people by scent. Dogs sniff people to learn their scent.
• After the dog has sniffed your hand and has become familiar with you, pet it gently
under the chin or on the chest.
Tell children to make like a “tree” as a loose dog approaches them. This means:
• Stand very still and quiet like a tree, and do not run away because this will cause the dog to chase you.
• Cross your arms over your chest, as if you are giving yourself a great big hug. (This shape forms the trunk of your tree.)
• Look away from the dog. Dogs think direct eye contact is a challenge for power and control. You do not want to challenge the dog. You
want the dog to go away.
• Wait until the dog goes away or help comes.
Hopefully these tips will be a great starting point to talk to your children about animal safety.
Teeter’s Story
Calendar of Events
May 15 - SPCA Benefit Show at the Starlite Room
May 22 - Schwan’s Fundraising Event
June 18 - Putt fore Paws Golf Tournament
July 7 - Bark in the Park Day at the Elmira Pioneer’s Game
September 18- Annual Walk N’ Wag
Check out more events, including monthly specials, online at
www.chemungspca.org.
When Teeter, a one-year-old Labrador Retriever and Chow Chow mix, was found as a stray, he
walked with a limp and it was obvious he was in a great deal of pain. After a vet visit, it was
determined that his leg had previously been broken and had healed incorrectly.
In order to eliminate the pain and restore Teeter to a happy, healthy dog, the limb had to be
amputated. Teeter underwent surgery to amputate his leg, which was paid for using the Animal
Rescue Fund. When Teeter returned, he was a three-legged dog.
We thought finding the right home for him was going
to be a challenge because of his physical status,
Teeter at the shelter with his broken limb.
but fate had other plans. One day not long after Teeter’s surgery, a woman came into the shelter
looking to rescue a dog. She told us the story of her last dog, a three-legged Lab that she missed
dearly. We knew it was meant to be when Teeter, who was wary of strangers, met the woman
and instantly fell in love. She started off fostering him until his leg was fully healed and then
happily welcomed him into her home on a permanent basis.
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Teeter in his new home.
This story just goes to show that there is the perfect owner for every dog.