Alliance Magazine Spring 2017

CLASSROOM CANINES
Dogs bring humane education to life
By Debbie Duel, Director of Humane Education
When my family and I set out to adopt a dog 12 years ago, I was insistent
that the dog meet specific criteria. Our new family member had
to get along with everyone—kids, cats, men, people in uniforms—and
be a great companion for a 7-year-old boy who wanted a dog more
than anything in the world. And there was something else; our dog
had to be comfortable visiting classrooms.
The Humane Rescue Alliance (HRA) humane education program is
curriculum driven, with all lessons based on underlying themes of
compassion, kindness, and social action. And who better to encourage
empathy than a dog? So, after months of looking, we met and
adopted Nigel.
This large Labrador retriever joined our family in December. By January
he and I had graduated from basic manners training class and in
the spring we were visiting school children all over the District of Columbia.
Nigel sat quietly in the center of classrooms while I recounted
how he had been grossly neglected and would have starved to death
had a passerby not reported seeing an emaciated dog chained to an
iron post. Students listened in disbelief when I told them that Nigel—
who was nearing a healthy 80 pounds when he made his first school
appearance—had weighed just 48 pounds on the day that he was
rescued. They were mesmerized when I placed a piece of cheese
(a favorite treat) on his front paw and he waited patiently until I said,
“take it.” The youngsters and I then discussed why a former starvation
victim would comply with such a counterintuitive request and a
whole lesson on trust ensued.
Two years ago Nigel retired. Nevertheless, kids continued to greet
me with, “Where’s Nigel?” or “When will Nigel visit?” Their pleas were
a constant reminder that while the books, PowerPoint presentations,
and role playing activities were meaningful, interacting with a living,
breathing, fur-covered goodwill ambassador was critical to the heart
of our humane education efforts. And while Nigel could never be replaced,
substitutes had to be recruited.
Currently, humane education program volunteer Jennifer Alfonso
brings her dog Mozart (another former cruelty case) into the classroom.
Mozart responds to a laundry list of fun tricks and basic obedience
commands. Students laugh hysterically when he confidently
hits the Staples “easy” button—made popular in the retailer’s commercials—on
command. The interactive session allows them to participate
in classroom training sessions, asking Mozart to do anything
from jump through hula hoops to join a conga line to take a nap.
Missi performs her
“dance and twirl.”
Other recent additions to the school visitation program
are Zeus, Shelter Manager Allison Bundock’s
rescue dog; Dolly, Director of Finance and Administration
Alison Putnam’s therapy dog; Digby, Behavior
and Training Director Alexandra Dilley’s adopted
golden retriever; and Missi, volunteer Lin Lawson’s
shelter alum. Like Mozart, Digby has a long list of
impressive tricks that he is always eager to demonstrate,
while Missi, a Shih Tzu/Maltese mix named
for Mississippi, the state from which she came, happily
performs “dance and twirl” for adoring onlookers.
Students stare in disbelief at photographs of
Zeus in his former surroundings—starving and tied
up in a dark, dirty basement—struggling to comprehend
how people could treat him so cruelly.
These and other animal ambassadors help bring
humane education lessons to life for DC’s young
residents. Their stories inspire students to care
about animals, encourage them to act when they
see animals in need of help, and share the lessons
they learn with others. They also have youngsters
participating in HRA’s humane education program
asking, “Who’s visiting today?”
ALLIANCE
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