As part of the Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation (AARF) education programme, the students of Orealia Kelly Primary School Kindergarten and Grade 1 classes were rewarded with fun activity books if they answered correctly questions about cats and dogs last week.
The activity books were designed by Maddie’s fund. An organisation in the United States established in memory of a dog called Maggie who died in 1997. The Foundation aims to provide solutions to the most challenging issues facing the animal welfare community through grant giving, hands-on animal care, and research and education. They donated 100 of the Maddie’s Tail Wag books to AARF who decided to use the books as rewards to children who displayed good listening skills and knowledge of how dogs and cats communicate.
The questions that the children were asked were based upon a presentation called “Understanding Cats and Dogs”. The Power Point presentation was made to the students by Penny Hope-Ross so that the students could learn to recognise the “body language” of cats and dogs so they know when it is safe to approach a dog or cat.
The mood of a dog can easily be recognised by looking at their ears, tail, mouth and body posture. For example if a dog wags its tail it is happy but if its tail is down and between its legs it is scared and should not be approach. The students were told to always ask permission of the owner before touching a dog and that they should approach them quietly and slowly so as not to frighten the dog and make them aggressive.
In the end all the students were able to find a question that they could answer correctly and as a result all were happy to receive the activity books.
– Contributed
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
