Summer doesn't start on June 21 as the calendar tells us. It doesn't start after Memorial Day. It doesn't start when the public pools first open. Here at HAWS we know summer has started when our first session of Kid's N Critters Day Camp begins.The relative quiet of HAWS Activity Room outside my office was shattered on Monday when 28 kids between the ages of 7 and 9 descended to have fun and learn about animals. This week consisted of two 2-day camps -- we had 7-9 year olds on Monday and Tuesday, and 10-12 year olds on Wednesday and Thursday.
Our camps run from the middle of June through the middle of August. Five of the sessions are 2-days, and 6 are full weeks. Our goal is to introduce the kids to animals they may not be familiar with, teach them appropriate behavior around animals, get them thinking about what being responsible for a pet entails, educate them about issues common in animal sheltering and rescue, and create empathy and respect for all living things. 
The kids who came on Monday and Tuesday had a wonderful time -- as you can see by the photos. They met the 4 week old puppies one of our employees is fostering until they are old enough to go up for adoption. Great socialization for the puppies, and a good lession for the kids about being quiet and calm so that the puppies wouldn't become afraid of them.
They learned about bottle feeding orphaned kittens, held a snake, and met a rabbit named Hop-A-Long and a guinea pig named Ella.
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