Critter Connection

PETS Project Graduation

2012-01-29T10:33:00.003-06:00

Back in December I posted about the difficulties I was having with my current semester of Lad Lake students. The PETS program is designed to have boys from the school for at-risk kids learn about and train shelter dogs with the goal of instilling empathy, teamwork, patience and inspire them to be interested in learning.

The first semester of the school year just ended and I'm pleased at how things really turned around for the program. The boys became very excited to work with the dogs and train them to do new things, and I saw many of the boys become more respectful both towards myself and the other students, and they were enthusiastic about the learning portion of the program.

The last day of the semester the boys gave me notes they'd put together thanking me for allowing them to particpate in the program. One of the boys was grateful that he'd learned about puppy mills and promised never to get a dog from one. One complimented me on being a great trainer and teacher. Another drew pictures of myself and my dog. Getting thanks from the kids I work with really makes my job worthwhile, and I always hope that I've made an impact even in a small way on their lives.

One of the gifts I give to the boys on completion of the semester is a video that I put together from footage shot over the course of the semester of their work with the dogs. The latest video is below.

Winter Camp and Humane Treatment

2012-01-05T13:50:00.005-06:00

HAWS Winter Camp ran last week when the kids had a break from school. One of the goals of our education program is to help children develop empathy for all living things. We do this through introducing the concept of caring about the needs of animals and thinking about how people's actions might effect an animal's well-being.

Two of the boys attending were high-functioning autistic and therefore behaved different than the other children. I worried that the other kids in the group would notice this difference and tease them, or at the very least not be tolerant of them.

I didn't need to worry, since all the kids made me very proud. Not only were they tolerant of the two boys, but they went out of their way to be considerate of them and reached out to make sure they were included in every way. I observed kids moving over to make room for the two boys with autism, asking them if they wanted to join in activities when the boys were off to the side, and making sure the boys had extra opportunities to engage with the animals we had out.

Was this a result of our programming? It's hard to say -- most of the kids have been through HAWS camps or other educational programs in the past. I'd like to take at least partial credit for it, but I'd also like to think that our world is becoming more accepting of people who aren't like us.

Lad Lake this Semester

2011-12-16T14:48:00.005-06:00

This semester's PETS program with Lad Lake (a program for at-risk teen aged boys) has been one of the most difficult so far since I started working with them in 2009. This year there were changes mid-semester in the enrollment -- two of the boys left the program and two were added. Changes like this always leave the group disjointed and makes it difficult for the boys to get into a rhythm of working together as a team.

Additionally, this particular group didn't seem as motivated to train the dogs and seemed to want to goof around quite a bit. Susan (Lad Lake Instructor) and I tried several different things, but both of us were getting frustrated on the lack of progress we were seeing over-all and weren't quite sure how to get the boys excited about working with the dogs.

It was an unmotivated dog that gave me the key. Yogi was a really sweet dog, but not very bright and not motivated to do more than sit. The boys were getting frustrated working with him, and I knew I had to do something to get Yogi interested in working.

I showed the boys how to click and treat for any interaction with a cardboard box -- an exercise coined by clicker training guru Karen Pryor as "101 Things to do with a Box". It's sometimes a great exercise for unmotivated dogs since they don't have to learn anything specific and are rewarded for anything they do that has to do with the box. Yogi really liked this exercise, and as it turned out, so did the boys.

Yogi was adopted, so this week the boys worked with a different dog. They asked if they could use some of the large plastic playground equipment HAWS uses for dog training classes. They had a lot of fun luring Roxie up onto the pieces, and asking her to sit and down.

And then a most amazing thing happened. The boys started to become motivated to try different things, and best of all were working as a team. The video below is of Alex struggling to get Roxie to rollover, while Chauncey does a great job coaching him through it.

Moments where students have a break-through and show visible signs of progress make my job very rewarding and keep me motivated. I hope the boys feel the same way.

HAWS Winter Camp In the News!

2011-12-08T14:55:00.006-06:00

Fox 6 Milwaukee was kind enough to have myself and Education Assistant Kaitlin Daugherty on their Fox 6 Wake-up on Monday morning. We were able to talk about HAWS upcoming Kids 'n Critters Winter Camp that will be running on Monday & Tuesday December 26 & 27, and also Wed-Fri December 28-30 for kids between the ages of 6 and 13 years.

It's amazing to me that we're already gearing up for winter camp -- it seems like our summer camp just ended!

Not suprisingly, HAWS mascot Mystic was the star of the Fox 6 appearance!

One Door Closes...

2011-11-30T16:25:00.003-06:00

Earlier this summer I applied for a grant with a local community organization. The funds I requested were to be used for HAWS annual spring break camp in which we allow local kids to attend a mini day camp here at HAWS for free. The kids are usually disadvantaged children from families that usually wouldn't be able to afford to pay a camp registration fee.

The goal with this camp is to provide a positive experience for the kids with animals, and to spark an interest in investigating a future career with animals.

Unfortunately in the middle of October I heard that we weren't chosen as recipients for this grant. Just as I was exploring options on other ways to receive funding I heard that the DECA club from Arrowhead High School had money they wanted to donate. They loved the idea of our spring break camp and committed to funding it.

DECA is an organization for students who are interested in marketing and entrepreneurship. Students learn skills needed for their future career through projects and partnerships with area businesses. They also have a commitment to giving back to the community, and because many members of the club love animals wanted to help our organization.

Non-profit organizations like HAWS rely on donations and grants to help us with many of our programs. It's very heartwarming to see a group of high school students put their time and energy into helping others.

Thanks Arrowhead DECA!

Happy Anniversary

2011-11-23T09:42:00.011-06:00

Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the adoption of my dog Belle. Thinking about this amazes in so many different ways. I can't believe she's 15 years old -- soon to be 16 (the shelter thought she was about 8 months old when she was picked up as a stray). On the one hand I can't believe that it's been 15 years already, but on the other Belle has been a part of my life for so long that it's hard to remember a time when she wasn't a part of it. And adopting Belle was my first experience in animal welfare - I have to give her credit for being such a great dog and allowing me to take my first step towards what ultimately became my passion and my career.

What amazes me even more is that in one dog's lifetime there have been significant changes in animal welfare in the south eastern area of Wisconsin. When I saw Belle 15 years ago for the first time, she was in a room that held several stainless steel cage units that had two levels. Belle was in a cage on the top level -- a cage that HAWS currently would use for our feline residents. It was barely bigger than a medium sized crate.

Recently the state of Wisconsin passed a law regulating any business or organization that sells more than 25 dogs a year. One of the regulations concerns size of the primary enclosure. The cage Belle was housed in during her stay at the shelter would be illegal now. It's not that the shelter I adopted Belle from was horrible -- it's just that back then there was a different way of thinking about sheltering.

Another thing that strikes me is that at the time I adopted Belle I had another dog who was listed on my adoption application. Not only did the shelter not require that I have the dogs meet prior to the adoption, it would not have been allowed. Back then shelters did not want any more animals in their building than those that were residents. They didn't want to bring in any more disease than they had to, and they didn't want to risk the health of the adopters dogs.

This is another big change from 15 years ago. I don't know of any shelter in this area that doesn't make it a requirement of adoption for a home's existing dog to meet the shelter dog being considered for adoption. Shelters want to do everything they can to make sure that the adoption is successful. Part of that means allowing the dogs to meet on neutral territory and assessing the meeting to see if they are likely to be compatible.

Belle's anniversary was yesterday and we're starting on our 16th year together. While we most likely won't be celebrating another anniversary together 15 years from now, I cherish every moment that we have had and will have together. And I look forward to seeing the progress of animal welfare and shelters in the future.

Critter Club Goes to the Llamas

2011-11-11T15:04:00.018-06:00

For years Kathy and Mark Harder have been bringing their Llamas to HAWS for camp and other kid programming, and were kind enough to invite us to visit them sometime. Critter Club provided the perfect opportunity since it was a small group of middle school aged kids and because they've been cleaning cages on Saturday mornings they deserved a special treat.

On Sunday morning a school bus picked our Critter Club members up and drove them just over the border in Jefferson County to the Harder Llama Farm. There they learned about llamas, life on a hobby farm, and how much work goes into taking care of farm animals.

The kids moved bales of hay and dropped them down a chute from the second floor of the barn down to the first floor where the llamas eat. They discovered just how heavy dried grass can be!

I think the best part was spending time with the animals -- including the farm's cats,and of course the llamas. And after they got over how cold it was in the barn, the kids really enjoyed sitting in the bales of hay eating apples.

Why Humane Education is Important

2011-11-03T15:22:00.008-05:00

Every now and then a child will tell me something that astounds me and makes me realize the importance of my job as a humane educator. Earlier this week I experienced one of those moments.

When giving a tour here at HAWS I have times where I'm giving the entire group information, and other times I'm allowing the kids to look at the animals on their own before we move on. Often the kids will take the opportunity during these latter moments to tell me something about an animal experience they've had, or tell me about their own pets.

One of the girls this week asked if we had any parakeets - and in particular if we had three that were green, yellow and blue. She wanted to know because she was wondering if her parakeets were here at HAWS, since her mother had "let them go" since the cat was after them.

"Let them go?" I asked. "You mean outside?"

The girl said yes -- her mother had let the birds go outside.

It was then I most likely made a mistake. "Parakeets are from Australia," I said in shock. "They can't survive in Wisconsin!"

I hadn't meant to make the girl feel bad, so I was a bit relieved when, ever the optimist, the 4th grader told me that maybe by now they were in Florida. At that point my shock had worn off and I allowed her to think this was a possibility.

As upsetting as this conversation was to me, I realize that this isn't this little girl's fault. My job allows me to reach children and adults and help them become educated about pets and how best to treat them - and hopefully put an end to the ignorance that creates inhumane actions like releasing pets into the wild.

Perhaps if I reach the child, I may allow the child to educate her mother. Even if this isn't possible I may be able to plant a seed and allow the child to make better choices than her parents.

Later in the tour I approached this same girl. "Tell your mother that if she ever has a pet that she can't keep or doesn't want any more she should bring it here. This is what HAWS is for -- we will be more than happy to help you out with pets you can't have."

Hopefully I reached two family members that day.

Project Learning and HAWS Animals

2011-10-31T15:58:00.004-05:00

Earlier this month I was contacted by an extremely mature middle school student from Bay Lane Middle School in Muskego, WI about a school project she was hoping HAWS could help with. Cassie, and her friend Nicole, were researching the effect that human and animal interactions have on both people and animals, and were wondering if they could come in and interview some people at HAWS about this topic.

Bay Lane Middle School is unique to Wisconsin -- it is a project based school in which students are placed in teams of two to four individuals, and are educated through doing projects, rather than through traditional curriculum.

Cassie and Nicole stopped in one morning and got a tour of HAWS while the staff and volunteers were still cleaning animal cages and spent time with volunteers who work with dogs, cat and small animals.

Before they left I asked them if I could see the project when it was finished, and just today I received an e-mail with a link to their finished project -- a website with their findings.

Congratulations to Cassie and Nicole -- they did a wonderful job finding the information, putting it together and creating a website!

Wild Animals as Pets

2011-10-27T14:50:00.005-05:00

Every other Friday I do an after-school program at Blair Elementary School in Waukesha, WI. Last Friday my planned activity was one in which students are read a story about a boy who dreams that Martians have captured him. The boy is lonely, eats the same food every day, is bored, misses being able to be outside and be free, and is frightened when the martians pick him up and when they yell at him for misbehaving.

After the story the students are asked to discuss how the boy felt, and how it might feel to be a wild animal in the same situation.

While I didn't plan it, the timing of the activity corresponded with the news that an Ohio man had released his 56 exotic animals (including bears, lions, tigers and leopards) before committing suicide.

The activity generated some really great discussion about keeping wild animals as pets. Most of the kids understood that wild animals would be very unhappy being kept in captivity -- especially after I showed them photos of lions at the San Diego Safari Park and then photos of tigers being kept in a small chain link cage. I explained the range of habitat that big cats would have in the wild, and the type of space they'd have if kept as someone's pet. And we talked about how zoos attempt to create environments that are similar to those the animals would have in the wild and how they spend a lot of time trying to ensure that the animals are happy in a zoo habitat.

One of the boys said that if you raise a wild animal from baby on it won't be dangerous. I told the students about one of Siegfried and Roy's tigers attacking Roy -- a tiger that he'd raised from a cub and that had been working with him on stage for years before the attack. I explained that wild animals will always be wild -- and that they have instincts that will always be there no matter how they are trained.

While I know that kids often think it would be cool to have an exotic animal as a pet, I think the Blair Elementary School after-school students were given some ideas to think about that may change their minds. Hopefully the seed of doubt planted today will help them feel more humanely about wild animals kept in captivity in the future.

Anthropomorphism

2011-10-19T14:54:00.013-05:00

Anthropomorphism is defined by dictionary.com as "ascribing human form or attributes to a being or thing not human..."

Being anthropomorphic with animals can be a good thing or a bad thing. For instance, when I'm working with children I try to encourage them to think in anthropomorphic terms with animals because it can help them develop empathy and respect in how they treat all living creatures. If you can put yourself in a pets place it's easier to understand how frightening it might be to have a stranger walk up to you and immediately start petting. Often times I'll ask kids if they like to be bothered when they're trying to eat dinner or if they're trying to sleep. When they tell me no, I ask them to consider that pets also don't like to be bothered.

On the other hand being anthropomorphic can interfer with being able to provide an animal's needs. I remember years ago I had rats that I kept in my office as education pets. When I first got them one of our very kindhearted volunteers bought me a nightlight to keep in the office so the rats weren't in the pitch dark during the evening and on weekends. While this is something that most humans would appreciate, rats are nocturnal. Wild rats rarely see the light of day, and are most active at night when they have the cover of darkness.

Last week I went to San Diego for the annual Association of Pet Dog Trainers conference. I went a few days early and was able to visit the San Diego Zoo Safari Park which is renowned for keeping their animals in huge open enclosures with as natural a setting as possible. Unlike most zoos, the Zoo Safari park allows many of it's animals to roam over many acres. While I was there I was lucky enough to be able to see the baby elephant that was born only 2 weeks prior.

One of the opening speakers at the conference was Jeff Andrews -- elephant manager for the San Diego Zoo and the Zoo Safari Park. One part of his presentation - with video, was about elephants and how they care for new born calves. After an elephant calf is born the mother elephant tries to get the amniotic sac off the baby and get it to it's feet as soon as possible. This would be important in the wild to prevent predators for getting to immobilized calves.

The process is a bit hard to watch. Mom elephant bellows and roars and uses her feet and tusks to try and get the sac off. She continues after the sac is gone in an effort to get her baby to it's feet. It looks violent and from our standpoint appears that her baby will be hurt and killed as this is going on.

Jeff Andrews told us that in the past many zoos chain their elephants when they're giving birth because the process does look so vicious and the zoo keepers were afraid that the baby would be seriously hurt and killed -- which at times can happen. However -- this is how elephants give birth in the wild, and the Zoo Safari Park prefers to be as hands off as possible and let nature take it's course.

Anthropomorphism in this case got in the way of letting mother elephants follow their instincts. And since elephants have been giving birth for thousands of years without dying out as a species, who are we to say they're doing it wrong?

Critter Club Starts Again!

2011-09-30T16:20:00.008-05:00

Last spring I wrote a post about a new program we started for middle school kids called "Critter Club". The program was a huge success -- the kids truly enjoyed coming on Saturday mornings to clean cages, scrub litter boxes and fold laundry. I think their parents were a little jealous they don't enjoy doing similar chores at home!

They also enjoyed the educational component to the program where they came to HAWS once a week for an educational program and had opportunities to spend time with HAWS adoptable animals. Many of the kids were invited back to become regular volunteers with their parents, despite the fact they were younger than 13, since they had shown a tremendous amount of responsibility, maturity and committment to HAWS.

Critter Club Fall 2011 started a few weeks ago. We have a total of 16 kids in this semester's program. Some participated in Critter Club last spring, and many are familiar to me since they've attended our camps in the past. We've picked up several new faces -- kids who hadn't been involved in any previous educational programs.

So far things are going extremely well. The club members have been trained in cat cuddling and small animal socialization, and will be trained as dog walkers next week. We plan to have them create a project to help HAWS during this semester's program, and they'll have a chance to visit a Llama farm and help care for the Llamas in November.

One of the best parts about the program is that I get to hold conversations with the kids and hear their thoughts. One of the kids told me last night about a dog owned by a relative. It upsets her that the dog is crated for most of the day and night, gets yelled at a lot and doesn't have access to water except for certain times of the day. These relatives have kids - I suggested she encourage this family to send their kids to HAWS Kids 'N Critters Day Camp because maybe we could help them develop empathy and learn how to be responsibile dog owners.

While it's a tough lesson for a kid to learn that not everyone is kind to their pets, I'm heartened that this club member is concerned, has empathy for the dog, and wants to make a difference. Hopefully HAWS programs will allow her to continue to feel this way.

Learn more about Critter Club and how your child can apply!

Captivity vs. Freedom

2011-09-20T15:38:00.007-05:00

When Lad Lake met for the first time I explained to the boys what HAWS is all about and gave them a tour. One of the special treats they were able to see was the marmoset we had had surrendered. Jerry wasn't available for adoption --he was being housed in a back room that was off limits to the public while we tried to figure out what exactly we were going to do with him.

As the boys were looking at Jerry I explained that I didn't think it was right to keep wild animals as pets. I explained that in the wild marmosets would be able to roam for miles and live in the rainforest in large groups. Kept as pets we can't even begin to replicate that natural habitat, and since they are wild animals being kept in captivity their natural behaviors can't possibly be fulfilled which means that they most likely aren't happy being kept as pets.

The boys, captivated by how cool Jerry was, didn't buy into it. One asked why it was ok for zoos to keep monkeys. I explained that zoos have larger enclosures than what a person keeping a pet monkey would be able to provide, and additionally had full-time staff to ensure that not only were the animals cared for appropriately, but that zoo staff spent a good amount of time providing environmental enrichment opportunities to ensure the animals had the mental and physical stimulation they needed to be happy.

The boys still weren't convinced. And when they heard that captive animals tend to live longer than wild animals they jumped on that as an excuse to keep wild animals as a pet.

"Wouldn't it be better for them to live as a pet and live longer?", one of them asked.

I asked the boys if they'd rather live for 70 years in a jail cell or for 30 years in freedom. They seemed to get it.

TAGteach and Lad Lake

2011-09-14T15:45:00.004-05:00

Recently I read an article on the website of animal trainer/behaviorist Karen Pryor entitled "Yes, But Does This Work with Kids? How TAGteach Made a Difference at School and Home". TAGteach is something I've been familiar with for quite some time, but this article summed up quite nicely the concept and how it can be applied as a tool for children.

TAGteach is basically clicker training for people. It allows the teacher to break down the whatever is being taught into small steps with each step being reinforced -- just like it would be with animals. The difference is that with people the teacher can articulate to the student specifically what the steps are.

I just started a new semester with my Lad Lake program in which at-risk boys come to HAWS twice a week to do training with shelter dogs. One of the problems I've run into with my previous Lad Lake attendees is that they want to skip steps in the training process. For example -- instead of building on a duration stay and setting the dog up to be successful, they always want to move away from the dog right away. Many of these kids lack patience and self control, and it's more difficult for me to get them to move a bit more slowing in their training steps than it is with the students I work with in my family manners classes.

I've decided to use TAGteach concepts to help the boys define specific steps in training the dogs to do behaviors -- recently I sat down a wrote out the stepts for sit, down, leave it and stay and put together a demonstration video to show them.

Today was the first day that the boys worked with shelter dogs -- we worked on sit and down. And I found that the steps I wrote out served as a good reminder for myself when coaching them so that I could help them help their dogs be successful.

Camp Field Trips

2011-08-31T16:16:00.003-05:00

Camp has been over for a little more than a week now, and I've been reviewing the surveys parents have submitted regarding their child's attendance at HAWS Kids 'n Critters Day Camps. One of the comments that comes up on the surveys from time to time is how we choose the location of the field trips that campers go on in during the week long camps.

Field trips are generally planned and booked in January or February prior to the start of camp. We look for several criteria in our field trips. First of all they need to be animal related -- this is Kids 'n Critters Camp after-all! We look for places that aren't too far from HAWS, and are within the budget that we have set aside for field trips. One of our major criteria is that the message the kids will obtain from the field trip experience matches the message that we are trying to promote at HAWS.

For example -- last year we looked at several facilities and decided against them because the message they promoted wasn't one that HAWS could support. One facility was a petting zoo that bred and raised rabbits in outdoor pens to eventually be butchered for food. Since HAWS sees first-hand the repercussions of the over-population problem of pet rabbits, we promote rabbits as being pets that should be spayed or neutered and for health reasons and their well-being should be housed indoors. While we realize that many people eat rabbit, we felt that we couldn't tell the kids the rabbits they were petting on the field trip were an exception to what we promote, since they would eventually end up as meat. Instead we looked for other field trip alternatives.

Another field trip -- one we actually took this year, was an organization that had a variety of activities for the kids. The exotic bird show was wonderful, the barnyard petting zoo a lot of fun. However, they had an indoor animal area that had a variety of animals. Some of the animals were those that people keep as pets, and animals that HAWS routinely places up for adoption -- such as kittens, rabbits and guinea pigs. What bothered me was that in this same area - side by side with the domesticated pets, they housed wild animals. They had a descented skunk (skunks are illegal to keep as pets in Wisconsin), a baby bobcat, and a monkey -- to name a few.

The facility's staff could have used this as an educational opportunity and explained to the kids that while guinea pigs and rabbits are great pets, bobcats and monkeys are animals that while incredibly cute, are wild animals and will never make appropriate pets. Additionally, since they are wild animals they most likely wouldn't be happy as pets. Zoos with all their staff and resources have a hard enough time doing all they can to ensure their animals get the enrichment, environment and care that they need. Keeping a wild animal as a pet is not humane, and unnecessary considering all the choices we already have in domesticated animals.

The Buddy System

2011-08-19T08:39:00.005-05:00

In the past we've always kept two age groups in our camp session -- 7 to 9 and 10 to 13. For the first time this year we've held camps where the ages of the kids ranged from 7 to 13 years of age. The reason for this change is that some of the camps for the older age groups weren't filling and opening it up to the younger age groups allowed us to get more registrations.

I reasoned that because we split the kids into 3 seperate groups anyway, we could easily create different activities for the older kids to do most of the day so that they wouldn't get bored playing the games for younger kids. And for the most part this is exactly how it worked out.

Part of the day the entire group of kids are together -- snack time, lunch, and doing a few activities. One of these times is during a game that the kids play called "Eventful Journey".

Eventful Journey is like a giant game board and the kids themselves are the game pieces. The purpose of the game is to illustrate how difficult migration is for birds -- how they might run into poor weather, hunters or not be able to find food. The kids are assigned a specific space - which is a game card which tells them what their next move is. The game card might tell them to advance to card number 18 because they had favorable weather, or it might tell them that they got caught up in a storm and have to go back to a previous card. Risk cards come into play if they land on a space already being occupied by other "birds".

The advantage of having all the kids play this particular game is that some of the younger kids don't yet have the reading skills to be able to read the cards -- although they are old enough to understand the lesson of the game. We paired the kids up so that each of the younger kids had an older kid as a partner -- with the older camper reading the instructions on the card.

Earlier this week I was hanging out with the older campers and asked them how they felt about camp merging all the age groups -- did they mind having to share camp with 7, 8 and 9 year olds? I was really surprised when I was told that some of them had what they called "little buddies". The older kids had taken it upon themselves to find a younger kid to take under their wing.

While it's my job to provide humane education for the kids that come through our program, many times I'm the one who is educated. Kids will be compassionate and reach out to others if you just give them the opportunity.

Butterflies and Coyote Poop

2011-08-13T14:01:00.007-05:00

As camp nears the end and I have less administrative duties, I've been able to spend a little more time with the kids. It always strikes me that there are many opportunities for education when it hasn't been scheduled. One such opportunity came up the other day when I was walking dogs with a group of kids.

I pointed out a couple of beautiful monarch butterflies and one of the kids wondered why there were so many in the field where HAWS volunteers walk dogs. I pointed to the milkweed plants and explained that monarch butterflies lay their eggs only on milkweed and that the caterpillars eat only milkweed.

Later on that same walk one of kids noticed a big pile of poop laying on the ground. As I pulled out out a bag ans started to pick it up, I saw another educational opportunity and started to talk about why it's important to pick up after dogs (and was secretely annoyed by the dog walking volunteer who apparently didn't do so), when I noticed that it wasn't dog poop.

The poop was a very dark black and had berry seeds in it -- it was coyote scat. I pointed these features out to the kids (yes, they actually were interested - isn't everyone interested in poop?) and talked about the fact that wildlife biologists use scat in their study of animals. Biologists can tell a lot about an animal through their poop such as their range of territory, health and diet.

All in all it was a good walk.

"Why is it..."

2011-07-31T18:15:00.004-05:00

Last week Mystic and I were invited to talk to a group of Girl Scouts about HAWS. I started off giving my usual speech about what HAWS does for Waukesha County and why animals end up there when one of the girls raised her hand with a question.

She asked; "Why is it that pet stores sell their animals for more than animal shelters, but the cages aren't as clean as in a shelter."

I have to say I had a really good feeling when I heard this questions. First of all, HAWS kennel staff do an extremely good job ensuring that the animals are kept in very clean cages -- it's a on-going effort throughout the day. Secondly, it was a recognition by a kid that pet stores generally do charge more for their animals than what an animal shelter charges in adoption fees. And lastly - it was question that in all my 7 years on the job I'd never heard before. I like getting unique questions!

Honestly I can't speak to the cleanliness aspect of the question since I so very rarely frequent pet stores that sell animals. I have seen pet stores with very clean cages, but I've also heard stories from other people about pet stores with caging that was so filthy as to be inhumane.

As far as our adoption fees being lower I do have an explanation. Pet stores are in business to make money. They are a business and it would be bad business to sell something for less than you can get for it. This may also account for the fact that some pet stores can't keep up with the cleanliness of the caging -- they may not be able to afford to have enough staff on hand to constantly clean the cages throughout the day and still be able to make a profit.

HAWS is a non-profit organization with a mission to find good homes for our animals. We don't need to make a profit on our adoptions -- and actually we lose money on every animal we adopt out since we spend way more on veterinary care, medication, food, kennel staff to care for the animals and other supplies than we make on our adoption fees. And this is why we rely so greatly on the public to donate supplies and money so that we can continue to do the work we do.

And thanks to the Girl Scouts -- many of the troops donate both items from our wish list and money to help us with our mission.

Visiting Llamas

2011-07-14T10:33:00.008-05:00

One of the benefits of having a camp at an animal shelter is being able to give the children experiences with animals that might be new to them. We do this with all the animals that end up in the shelter, but occasionally we are able to bring in animals that usually don't end up in shelters.

Mark and Kathy Harder own a llama farm out in the Watertown area and for many years have been kind enough to bring a llama or two to HAWS Kids 'N Critters Day camp to teach the kids about llama behavior, what kind of pets they make, and allow the children to get up close and personal with the animals. This is definately a first time experience for many of the kids attending camp.

I learn a little something about llamas every time the Harder's visit. Llamas really aren't expensive to keep - one llama cost no more than having a medium to large dog. They are very clean animals and most of the time prefer to eliminate in the same areas -- which means that the floor is clean after the llama leaves. In many places they use llamas as guardian animals with other livestock since llamas are very assertive and will attack predators.

The new piece of information I learned on this visit is that llamas like to sniff new people during their greeting. And Addy did exactly that on Monday when the kids were coming up to say "hi" and give her a little bit of attention. Apparently Addy felt that the kids were ok because she felt no urge to spit at them. And the kids really liked meeting her as well.

In Tribute to an Education Snake

2011-07-07T14:33:00.005-05:00

Sadly HAWS education snake, Severus, died over the weekend. It wasn't unexpected -- she was surrendered to us in 2007 and the previous owners told us she was 25 at the time; that would have made her almost 29 years old at the time of her death. With a California King Snake's life expectancy being between 20 and 30 years, it turns out she lived to a ripe old age.

We didn't know Severus was a "she" until last year when she was experiencing some gastrointestinal distress and we had her visit Dr. Kevin Ruch at Elmbrook Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Ruch is a specialist in reptile medicine and he did a great job caring for her, and identified her as a female.

Severus was the perfection education animal. She was content to be left alone, and happy to be brought out and handled as well. Because most kids haven't ever held a snake, she gave the kids in our education programs a new experience. And it was fun to see the kids start out repulsed and then come to think she was really cool.

Now that she's sunning herself on the snake rock in the sky Severus will be missed here at HAWS, and we are thankful for the almost 4 years of service she was able to contribute.

Good News, Bad News

2011-06-29T20:37:00.005-05:00

HAWS has been in the news twice within the last two weeks.

The first news story was a great one about our camp -- it's the video posted above. Fox 6 Milwauke did a fantastic job showing what our Kids 'N Critters Camp is all about -- what we're trying to teach the kids, what kinds of things they do at our camps, and how much fun they have.

The latest news story wasn't so pleasant - a woman was attacked by her own two dogs while attempting to breakup a dog in the backyard of her home and had to take a ride on flight for life to the hospital. Police officers shot one of the dogs as it attempted to climb over the fence at them. Unfortuantely the dogs were pit bulls.

I say unfortunately because every time a pit bull hits the news it's another mark against the breed. Not all pit bulls are aggressive dogs -- as a matter of fact the majority that I've met are very loving with friendly temperaments towards people. But those don't make the news, and stories like this make it difficult for dogs from bully breed dogs with good temperaments to find homes when they are in need of adoption.

HAWS made the news in this story because we are the animal control facility that came and picked up the other dog. Our Operations Manager -- Mark Hess had to use a tranquilizer dart in order to safely get the dog into his custody.

The dog is here at HAWS undergoing a quarantine for rabies -- her future is not entirely certain at this point. She's in a kennel looking like anything but a vicious dog -- she's very sad, stressed and a bit afraid. HAWS refused to let the media get footage of her since there was a concern that would increase her stress level - instead we released some still photos one of our staff shot instead.

Here's a link to the news coverage:
http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-20110629-pitbull-attack-followup-story,0,3622188.story

Unscheduled Lessons

2011-06-19T21:07:00.009-05:00

It's that time of year at HAWS -- summer camp time. Last year we held three sessions of "Camp Gone to the Dogs" and it was overwhelmingly successful. This year we added another two weeks and they were the first sessions to fill.

I love this specialty camp because it allows me to share my passion and knowledge of dogs. The kids not only get to spend time with their shelter dog for the week, but they learn about training, socialization, and puppy mills -- among other things.

In my over seven years as a humane educator I've come to realize that sometimes the best lessons are those that aren't planned, and of course this was the case during last weeks camp.

On Tuesday one of the dogs started limping, and by Wednesday Ashland was having difficulty getting up. The kids were extremely concerned about her, but felt better when we assured them our vet was going to check her out.

Ashland was diagnosed with Lyme's Disease and treatment was started immediately. However I had to break it to her three campers that they might not get to work with her for the rest of the week. They were really good sports about it and very understanding. Fortunately the antibiotics were fast acting and Ashland was feeling well enough on Thursday that the kids could spend time with her -- even though they had to limit her activity.

The good feeling I was having when that that problem was resolved was short-lived, however. Chops the cocker spaniel was scheduled to go to his new adoptive home on Saturday, but there was a lump on his chest that needed to be removed. I met with his campers and explained the situation and asked if they would mind if Chops had the surgery and they were given a different dog to work with -- possibly for the rest of camp. I was very proud of them -- they unhesitatingly agreed that Chops should have the tumor removed (it was benign), and worked with another dog without complaining. And later that day begged to go see him in recovery so they knew he was ok. Chops was feeling well enough by Friday morning that they were able to get him back.

The campers learned that when working with animals things don't always go as planned, and that the animal's welfare takes priority over everything else. I'd say the first week of camp this year was a success!

Cat Agility

2011-06-07T15:53:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago HAWS hosted feline behaviorist Victory Pappa from Cats International to talk to Waukesha County cat owners about cat behavior and help them solve cat behavior problems. Victoria did a great job explaining how to deal with cats not using the litterbox, play nipping, and counter cruising.

As a dog trainer one of the things I explain to dog owners is that many times behavior problems occur because our dogs are bored. Environmental enrichment and exercise can go a long way towards helping resolve a lot of behavior caused by boredom.

Therefore I wasn't too surprised when I learned that the same is true of cats. Many times people get cats because they don't want to spend as much time exercising them and consider them less work than dogs. And in a lot of ways this is true. However cats are very smart and curious animals, and if they aren't given enough to do can get into trouble.

Victoria brought along Vivian Frawley who brought her cat Linus for a special demonstration. She believes that teaching cats agility -- an obstacle course much like the dog sport -- can go a long way to getting them mentally tired, and possibly prevent behavior problems from occuring. Below is a video of Linus going through a simple course.

It Always Costs More...

2011-05-23T15:51:00.007-05:00

One of the things I get asked when I do my educational presentations is how much animals cost at HAWS. When I tell kids our adoption fees for certain animals, I invariably hear: "Oh, I could get him. I have (fill in amount here)at home.

While this is what I hear from children, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out that many adults think like this as well. But truthfully the cost of the animal itself is just the beginning and is really the most inexpensive part of having a pet.

When I visited third graders at Hadfield Elementary School I brought Speckles the Guinea Pig with me. And of course the kids were very excited to hear that her adoption fee is only $13.00 and thought that they could afford to adopt her.

It was a great opportunity for me to discuss with them what the actual cost of a guinea pig would be. We had to factor in her cage, water bottle, food dish, chew toys, house, bedding and food -- the last two would be an on-going expense. And I talked about having money saved up in case their guinea pig got sick and needed to go to the vet.

While it's natural for kids to want something without thinking about the cost, I think it's a good idea to plant the seed that having a pet is a long-term financial commitment.

Banning Breeds at Camp

2011-05-17T10:11:00.007-05:00

HAWS Kids 'N Critters Camp will be starting soon, and I spend a good portion of my day lately fielding calls and talking to parents who drop in to ask questions about camp. Understandably they want to know what the children will be doing during their time here, and what types of animals they will get to interact with.

A few weeks ago a mother stopped in at HAWS and asked to speak with me before she submitted her child's camp registration form and payment. She wanted to know what kinds of dogs her daughter would see -- specifically she wanted to ensure that her daughter wouldn't interact with pit bulls.

I think she was disappointed that I wasn't willing to make that guarantee. I explained to her that I choose the dogs by reviewing the profile the previous owner submits, looking at the behavior evaluations our staff does on each dog, and that I spend a little time with each dog before I submit a list of approved dogs to my camp counselors. Breed, size and age has no determination in which dogs I choose or don't choose - my determination is based only on whether or not the dog will be safe with the children. Sometimes the only dogs I feel will be safe around campers are pit bulls or their mixes.

The mother wasn't happy with my explanation. She went on to tell me that "those dogs" are all vicious and that she didn't want her daughter around them. And I went on the explain that unfortunately bully breeds are victims of the media looking for exciting stories about mean looking dogs, and that any dog breed can and will bite. I also told her that in my 7 years of working in a shelter and handling hundreds of dogs the only dog bite I'd ever had was from a cockapoo, and that as a bite quarantine facility for Waukesha County we almost never quarantine bully breeds.

I'm not sure the woman was convinced, however she reluctantly left her child's application and payment with me and her daughter will be coming to camp this year. Someone I related this story to told me that I should have told this woman we didn't want her daughter at camp given the attitude. But then we wouldn't have had the opportunity to educate this family's next generation, would we?

Future Female Ph.D.s

2011-04-29T19:14:00.007-05:00

Back in December I applied for a mini STEM Grant from the National Girls Collaborative Project for HAWS Education Department. STEM stands for "Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, and the goal of NGCP is to link organizations that offer STEM programs so that they can share resources and help develop gender equality in STEM -- in other words get girls interested in science and math!

Our grant was for a program to be run during spring break and was based on one of the Kids N Critter Day Camps we offer during the summer called Gone to the Dogs. The program was tweaked a bit so that it would conform better to the STEM requirements. Our collaborative partner was the Boys and Girls Clubs running out of Hadfield Elementary in Waukesha, WI. We were told that the grant had been awarded at the end of February, and the camp ran this past week.

Eleven girls between the ages of 9 and 11 spent Monday through Thursday at HAWS. They spent 3 mornings in HAWS vet clinic watching surgery, learning about veterinary medicine, listening to heartbeats through a stethoscope, and observing our vets and vet techs with the animals. Dr. Meyer told them that if they were interested in becoming veterinarians they needed to pay attention in science and math and should volunteer in shelters once they're old enough so that they get animal handling experience.

The girls learned about the importance of socialization in puppies and then got to play with the litter of dachshund puppies we happened to have this week. They learned about positive reinforcement, and were able to practice training some of the dogs.

I also had them put together an experiment based on the pointing studies that many researchers who are interested in canine cognition have already published. (Click here to watch a video on work being done in Germany.) The girls designed the study with a little coaching by me, and decided to compare whether dogs that had an owner or dogs that lived in a shelter would be better at following a point. They then actually implemented the study.

I'll be the first to admit that the implementation of this study won't adhere to the strict criteria that science requires. The girls were really rooting for the dogs and hated to see them fail and sometimes gave them a lot of leeway on whether they were successful or not. It was also difficult for them to keep quiet during the testing and that caused the dogs to become distracted. But the whole point of their time at HAWS wasn't to become perfect scientists. The point was to show them that science can be fun, and I know we succeeded in that.

Below is a video of the experiment with the girls talking about what they did.

What Smells!

2011-04-22T21:47:00.019-05:00

This year's annual spring seminar hosted by HAWS was a huge success, and Sunday's topic was one of the most interesting presentations we've ever had. While it's well known that dogs have a phenominal sense of smell, it's not something that most people do as a fun activity with their dogs.

Up until now there really hasn't been much for the dog owner who wants to train their dog to use their nose, but doesn't really want to get into obedience, search and rescue or tracking. That's all starting to change. Dog trainers are starting to understand that because dogs have such a natural tendency to use their nose to explore their world, we can use this as a way to help dogs tire out mentally and as a bonding activity between owner and dog. A sport called K9 Nose Work recently developed and has started to become popular.

Steve and Jennifer White were HAWS featured speakers last weekend. Steve has a background in training dogs for law enforcement K-9 units, and Jennifer has decades of experience training a variety of species and working in behavior modification of canine behavior problems.

Our introduction to scent taught us that scent isn't stationary -- it moves according to the environment it's in and can be affected by surface type, temperature and wind. A good dog handler understands this, and should learn how to evaluate the environment in order for the dog to be the most successful.

A good handler also learns to trust the dog -- because after all humans have only 5 mllion scent receptors in our noses, while dogs have between 125 and 300 million -- depending on the breed.

The highlight of Sunday was the demo. I was very proud of my dog Mystic who found the scent tucked away in a film canister and placed on an upside down chair after minimal training.

Dixie wasn't quite as successful -- her extensive training as a hunting dog most likely made her dismiss the scent of almond extract as being irrelevant. Her nose has been trained to find birds, not nuts. But she sure had fun playing with Steve!

Star of the day was Bryn -- a schipperke with a nose that kicked in. Here's video of her enthusiastic report that she had successfully located the almond extract.

Thanks to Steve and Jennifer White for the video, and stills taken from the video. And for showing those of us in attendance on Sunday a whole new world as smelled through our dog's noses.

Critter Club

2011-04-01T16:57:00.010-05:00

For years HAWS has had to disappoint animal-loving kids by turning them down as volunteers. Our policy is that teens between the ages of 13 and 15 need to volunteer with a parent, and can only volunteer without parental supervision once they reach 16. This means that teenagers who don't have a willing parent, or kids under the age of 13 don't have an opportunity to contribute their time to the animals at HAWS.

This policy is difficult for many kids and their parents to understand. It's not that we don't like children -- we do, really! It's just that interacting with animals at a shelter is very different than interacting with the family pet. Here at HAWS we get a range of personalities in our adoptable animals -- everything from easy going and extroverted, to shy and intolerant of certain interactions by strangers. It takes a certain degree of maturity, responsibility and common sense to ensure safety around some of our animals. And while there are some adults that don't have these qualities -- they are much more likely to be lacking in children.

We've started a new program called Critter Club on a trial basis. For the next two months 15 kids between the ages of 11 and 13 will be allowed to volunteer under the direct supervision of HAWS staff. It won't all be about cuddling with fuzzy creatures, however. The kids will be cleaning cages, washing dishes, restocking poop bags in our out-door waste stations, and cleaning windows. Once their work is done they'll be allowed to take out cats and some of the other animals and do some socialization.

The other component to Critter Club is educational. Last night they went through the same training that our regular volunteer cat cuddlers go through. Next week we'll be doing trials on some scent games with adoptable dogs that we plan on using at HAWS Annual Walkathon in May. And in May they'll have an opportunity to watch our veterinary staff at work doing surgery in our SNIP Clinic. If this program is successful we'll be offering it to a limited number of kids each semester during the school year. Watch out for updates, and I'll let you know!

Kids Say the Funniest Things

2011-03-25T16:32:00.004-05:00

I gave a tour of HAWS the other day to a group of 8 year old Girl Scouts. One of the girls told me that she had a girl guinea pig and wanted to get a boy guinea pig so that "they can get married and have babies". I asked her what would happen to all the babies, and she responded that she would keep them. I then mentioned that she would need 2 cages -- one for all the girls and one for all the boys so that there wouldn't be even more babies. Her response to this was "I didn't know relatives could get married!"

Got Your Goat?

2011-03-18T11:43:00.005-05:00

One of the best things about working at an animal shelter is that you never quite know what will be in the building when you get to work in the morning.

Last night HAWS Operations Manager, Mark Hess, got a call about a stray goat in Genesee, WI. She's got a collar, seems to be used to walking on a leash, and isn't phazed by dogs.

So if you've lost this maaaa-velous creature give us a call!

Mother Nature Knows Best

2011-03-12T21:48:00.003-06:00

Kids love to tell stories about experiences they've had with animals, and I hear a ton of those during programs I do as a humane educator.

One common story is of finding a nest of baby bunnies. Often times the kids will tell me that the mother rabbit isn't caring for her offspring.

Spring is getting closer, and with spring comes an increase in the number of calls HAWS gets from people who have interactions with wild animals -- frequently these calls involve orphaned or abandoned baby animals. We also get an upswing in the number of wild animals brought in by caring individuals who only want to do the right thing.

What many people don't realize is that not all animals care for their babies 24/7. Rabbits will make a nest for their babies and leave them alone for most of the day -- returning only to feed at dawn and at dusk. This makes good evolutionary sense -- an adult rabbit hanging around a nest all day would tip off predators as to where an easy lunch could be found; baby rabbits are safer by themselves when not feeding.

Our advice to anyone coming upon a nest of baby rabbits is to leave them alone - mom most likely is going to come back. And while a wildlife rehabilitator can attempt to bottle feed rabbits -- the truth is that they don't have a good survival rate being raised by humans. Mother Nature really does know best.

Domestication

2011-02-28T15:47:00.006-06:00

In 1959 the fur industry in Russia tried to find a solution to the problem of difficult to handle wild foxes being raised for their fur. Soviet geneticist Dmitri Belyaev was enlisted to help with the problem and started a very well known experiment to domesticate the fox. Belyaev felt that the key to domestication was selection for tameness.

Fifty years later Belyaev's experiment is still on-going. Foxes today are 35 generations removed from the original foxes in the study -- with only the tamest foxes being bred. One of the most interesting effects of selecting ONLY for temperament has been the changes in the domesticated foxes physical appearance. Coats developed a piebald appearance, tails shortened and in some cases curled, and ears flopped instead of sticking straight up.

This is significant since it indicates that the diversity in appearance of our domestic dog could have originally developed as a result of selection for behavior. While in modern times dog fanciers select for appearance, long ago dogs were bred for function, and the ear carriage, coat color and length would have been a much smaller, if not irrelevant consideration.

True domestication is the result of animals being bred over many generations in such a way that they have been genetically altered to not only appear different than their wild counterparts -- but to be much more tractable than them. This differs from tameness -- which merely means that an animal has been raised in such a way that makes it easier to handle than it's wild relatives, however it has not necessarily been genetically changed and still retains it's wild behaviors, instincts and appearances.

Roy Horn of the duo Siegfried and Roy was seriously injured when he was bitten in the neck by a 7 year old tiger he'd raised from a cub that was part of his Las Vegas act. While the tiger had a relationship with Horn, it was still a wild animal.

Recently Belyaev's foxes have offered for sale in the United States through a distributor in Las Vegas, NV called Sibfox. For only $5,950 a person can have their own domesticated fox transported from the Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Russia.

While these foxes truly are domesticated animals, I have a problem with this for many reasons. First of all -- not much is known about keeping a fox as a pet. We don't know what their natural behavior is, nor do we know if a rabies vaccination developed for dogs is effective for foxes. The website states that there are very few fox owners out there, and so not many people have yet experienced them as pets.

This brings me to the next problem. On Sibfoxes FAQ page it states: "...none of our clients expressed interest in sharing their contact information with the public for any purpose. However, we can e-mail questions that you may have to them and determine whether they want to respond by email or telephone." So a potential purchaser does not have an opportunity to directly contact a current fox owner to ask questions.

The FAQ section also indicates that a prospective buyer has no opportunity to meet the fox they are purchasing prior to purchase, much less meet it's parents. Animal welfare professionals recommend that when purchasing an animal from a breeder the parents be met since the parents behavior is indicitive of what the temperament of it's offspring will have.

While I'm fascinated by the research results of Belyaev's foxes, I am very unhappy about having even domesticated foxes become pets. While the FAQ section indicated that all foxes will be neutered before being shipped to the United States (most likely as a way for them to remain the only source of the domestic fox pet trade), I see no reason for a new canid to become pets -- after we are very familiar with the behavior and care of dogs. And there are so many of them out there in need of a home.

Research and Responsibility

2011-02-18T17:01:00.008-06:00

One of the things I attempt to teach children about being responsible pet owners is that the responsibility begins even before you bring the pet home. Learning as much about a the required care, behavior and handling of an animal before you get it helps a person be prepared to be a good pet owner and be able to provide for the needs of the animal.

Guinea Pigs, for example, are decended from the cavy in the Andes Mountains in South America (cavia aperea). Since they live near the equator the temperature is consistent and fairly warm -- with only about 12 degrees in variation from season to season. Guinea Pigs can very easily become sick if exposed to drafty or cold weather, and it's recommended that they be kept inside in an area away from open windows or air conditioning ducts.

Recently HAWS had some Guinea Pigs surrendered to us, and it was obvious that the owners hadn't done even rudimentary research before they brought them home.

The previous owners told us that they thought Guinea Pigs were outdoor pets, and so they housed them in a fenced in yard with a dog house for shelter and a heating lamp. When he called he said that he thought he had 8 of them to bring in, however after he rounded them up discovered that there were 11 total. It's amazing that they were still alive after being housed outside in Wisconsin in January!

The reason for surrender was that the owners decided that Guinea Pigs just weren't the right pets for them --mainly because they weren't social, however HAWS was told that the guinea pigs weren't ever handled either. Animals can only learn to be social if someone makes an effort to socialize them.

After being treated for lice, mites and fight wounds the males were neutered and are currently being socialized by our small animal volunteers. They are available for adoption -- but will require an adopter who understands that patience will have to be practiced since they are still afraid of people. The females are in foster care for a few months while we wait to see if any are pregnant.

While this scenario is a bit extreme, surrenders because of a lack of education are one of the biggest reasons shelters get animals. People purchase pets because they are cute or cool, and then get home and reality sets in. Shelters will continue to exist as long as there are people who obtain pets they don't know much about.

This is Why I Do It

2011-02-07T09:41:00.002-06:00

I just received a card with thanks from the Lad Lake boys who participated in last semester's PETS program. It was really a great start to a Monday, and I wanted to share it. I've removed the names signed at the end.

Khris
Thank you for everything you did for us and the dogs. I learned a lot about dogs. Plus I’m not as scary of dogs. I love pit bulls and any dogs that look mean and strong. Your teaching was good – when I could not do something you were there to help me. Thanks for the time you did with us. You were one of the best teachers. Thanks for everything, so Yea Thanks,
Bye Bye
Bark Bark

When I came in I had no idea what to do but I met Naya and got to work. I didn’t do the best at first but I got a hang of it and I had some real fun times. I learned a lot of new stuff and what to do and what not to do.
Thank You

The dogs were a great time. You taught us to know if it is friendly or mean. I had a great time. I hope you had a great time too. Thank you. Even though I did not work with Naya, she is so nice. I hope Mystic and Belle have a good time.

I liked the dogs a lot. I want to go again. I liked training the dogs how to sit and shake and roll over. And I loved Jenna and working with her. I like Mystic, and he was my favorite dog. I also really working with Tommy. I hope I can come again and work with Jenna, I want her to be a bomb dog and get adopted.

I love you. Good bye,

Thank you Khris for all the hard work you’ve done for us! I appreciate that you would go out of your way to teach us how to train dogs. We had lots of fun and I hope you did too!

I liked to hang out with Naya and Mystic. I think those two dogs are very special and they have a lot of potential. I think they both are good dogs. I hope Naya is having a good time, just like Mystic.

You are a good inspiration, and you encourage me to not buy from puppy mills, and to believe that I can take care of pets just like you do. I hope you and Mystic and Belle have a wonderful day.

Your friend,

Khris, I thank you for letting me work with the best dog trainer. I thank you for letting me work with Naya. I loved Naya.

I wish I could have Naya.

Love,

PETS Graduation

2011-01-28T12:53:00.003-06:00

First semester of Lad Lake has come to an end, and so the boys that were participating in the PETS (Positive Empathy Training for Success) program graduated.

I am very proud at the end of each semester of how far the students have come. Not only have their training skills improved, but they have achieved personal growth as well.

One of the boys who tended to get frustrated and shut down in the beginning learned to become more patient and adapt if things didn't go the way he thought he should. Another went from being bossy with the other boys to becoming a true team member who could express himself without belittling. A third boy who used to run away from school when his emotions got the better of him, learned to control himself so that he could attend the program at HAWS.

Each semester I make a video for the boys comprised of the video and photos that were taken during their time here and add music. Because it's a gift for pre-teen and teenage boys, the music I use is for them. The boys get the video, as well as files containing photos and unedited video and a certificate of completion.

The video embedded here is an edited version of what I made for the boys.

I Know a Rooster When I Hear One

2011-01-21T16:16:00.003-06:00

One of the most interesting parts about working in an animal shelter is that you never quite know what we have until you come into work.

As I was walking into the building from the parking lot one day last week I heard crowing. Yep -- HAWS had a rooster.

Apparently the lucky guy was originally slated to be someone's dinner. I don't know what the circumstances were, but he ended up at HAWS looking for a new home.

We're hoping to find a forever farm for him soon.

Another lucky animal was a cat that was found in an abandoned garage last night by a kind Waukesha County resident and brought into HAWS. The weather in Wisconsin right now is brutally cold -- it was -8 degrees when I got up this morning. The poor kitty was half frozen and luckily survived. Right now she's staying in a foster home while she recovers from her ordeal.

This serves as a good reminder to all of us who have pets that they really shouldn't be outside for any length of time. I know my dogs run out to eliminate and then want to come right back in.

A Really Wonderful Book

2011-01-05T16:25:00.005-06:00

I've been giving a lot of thought to the "Smooch your Pooch" book and the blog post I did about it last month.

There are a lot of really great books for children that do a wonderful job helping children develop respect and empathy for pets, and learn how to appropriately interact with them.

Once of my favorites is a book called "Libby and the Cat" by Yetti Frenkel. The front cover illustration shows a little girl about to step on the tail of her cat. While this would make the book appear to be a poor choice as an appropriate pet friendly story for children, trust me when I say the book is wonderful. I love it so much that I gave it as a gift to my young nephew, and often read it on my visits to pre-school classrooms.

The story is about 3 year old Libby Bess who teases the family cat. She steps on his tail, dresses him up in hats, pushes him in a stroller, and sneaks up on him and scares him -- among other things.

One day she realizes that she doesn't like it when people force her to do things she doesn't want to do, and realizes that the cat probably doesn't either. At that point she starts to do things for the cat that she thinks he most likely enjoys -- likely playing with him with a catnip mouse string toy.

What's so wonderful about this book is that I think kids really can relate to this. Teasing other kids and animals can give children a sense of power that they might not be able to get any other way -- it can make them feel good. But realizing that others have feelings and our behavior can impact the emotions of others should be part of growing up to be an emotionally healthy person -- it should be the goal of any parent for their child. And this book can be a tool to help children with this important part of their development.

Winter Camp is Here Again

2010-12-30T13:42:00.006-06:00

It's that time of the year again - when the snow is on the ground, when it's gotten cold enough that you can see your breath, and when in Wisconsin in December it can get up into the 40's and drizzle. It's also the time of year when kids have a break from school and HAWS holds Winter Camp.

This year HAWS had two sessions of camp -- a two day session on Monday and Tuesday, and a three day session running Wednesday through Friday.

We've done a lot of the traditional activities that HAWS Winter Camp schedules such as making pine cone bird feeders for the kids to take home and put out for the wild birds, and learning about sled dogs and getting a dog sled ride curtesy of HAWS Executive Director Lynn Olenik and her huskys.

This year I added walking HAWS adoptable dogs to the camp scheduled. This is an activity that the summer campers partake in, but it's a first for our winter camp. I came to the realization that many dog owners don't have the option to skip exercising their dogs just because the weater is cold and snowy. And this is a lesson that I wanted the kids to learn as well.

This decision actually was a win-win for me personally. I'm fostering a dog for HAWS named Jenna. About a year old with more energy than I know what to do with, and with an obsession for chasing a ball, it made sense to have the kids help me tire her out.

Jenna is very obliging -- she really doesn't care who throws the ball as long as she can chase it. And it has been really nice to have the kids throw the ball -- it's allowing my developing tennis elbow to heal before camp ends and I have to go back to throwing the ball again.

(Don't) Smooch Your Pooch

2010-12-17T18:36:00.010-06:00

One of the newest children's book releases is entitled "Smooch Your Pooch" and has an illustration on the front cover of a little girl planting one on a dog's cheek. Amazon has some great reviews from parents who state that it's a cute story, has great rhymes, and their kids really love it.

It's also come on the radar of veterinarians, dog trainers and behaviorists, and the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior. The biggest problem are the pages that advise children to: "Smooch your pooch to show that you care. Give him a hug anytime, anywhere."

While these words sound innocuous enough to most people, to a professional in the world of canines they evoke horror. A display of affection by kissing and hugging is a part of what we humans do. But this kind of display can and does end up with children getting bit. When a dog puts his paw over the back of another dog it is not a friendly gesture. And many dogs do not like being restrained -- which is what a hug really is. Kissing can also bring problems since it usually places a child's face right next to a dog's teeth.

Yes -- I do hug and kiss my dogs all the time -- and they tolerate it because I am their human, and because I know when they are not in the mood for me to do it and want to be left alone. I think many dogs are the same way -- willing to tolerate the silliness of the people they live with. And I think it's unrealistic to expect people - especially children, to NOT ever display affection by hugging and kissing their dogs.

Dr. Sophia Yin wrote a really fantastic review of the book on Amazon detailing why this is an inappropriate book and I don't want to use my blog to re-write something that she already put so concisely. I'd rather address some of the reviews that were written after hers and those who concurred with her concerns.

Many of these reviewers stated that the book does not advocate that children go up to strange dogs and hug and kiss them, and so didn't see why the book was a problem. The problem is that children should be taught that even THEIR OWN dogs really don't like to be hugged and kissed, and that children should respect their own dog's feelings. The line, "Give him a hug, anytime anywhere" doesn't take into consideration the fact that no one wants a hug anytime, anywhere!

Additionally it's my thought that children who have extremely tolerant dogs at home are more likely to get bit by dogs in the homes of others. They many times have not been taught that not all dogs are as tolerant as their own, and that they need to behave differently around other dogs.

Some of the Amazon reviews stated that the book was a good opportunity for parents to have a discussion about appropriate interactions with dogs. The problem with this comment is that many adults don't understand dog behavior and don't realize what inappropriate human/dog behavior is.

A case in point is the reviewer who stated that the book "...does not encourage kids to kiss strange dogs or dangerous dogs." Another stated that "...adults can take proper precautions by explaining that it is not a good idea to hug or kiss any strange animals." In their minds the only dogs that would take offense to their children kissing or hugging them are dogs they don't know, or dangerous dogs. Would they be surprised if kids were bit hugging the neighbors dog? What about a dog owned by a relative that they visit frequently? Most kids are bit by dogs they know -- not by stray dogs.

When I do education programs on dog safety I hear many stories of people who have been bit by dogs. They aren't all children - one parent told me that she had been bit by a friend's dog when she went to hug it, and a child told me that his Mom had been bit by a dog after she hugged it -- no, it was not the same woman! And most of the children who get bit by dogs were attempting to hug them when it happened.

My last concern about this book is that it apparently does have cute illustrations and the rhyming makes it fun to read. Kids are so impressionable and if they enjoy the book may want to act it out -- with perhaps negative consequences.

Again -- I want to state that I do think it's unrealistic that people and their kids won't kiss and hug their own dogs. But children and their parents need to be educated that dogs really don't like this type of affection, and they need to respect their furry family member's feelings and keep that kind of affection to a minimum at times when the dog is in the mood for it. And this book really doesn't help them do that.

Pet Myth: Stray Animals

2010-12-03T15:03:00.000-06:00

"He was too friendly to have been a stray."

"Stray animals are pets that don't have a home."

I've heard both these statements when people refer to stray animals. A lot of people think that the word "stray" is equivalent to "feral" - which refers to a domesticated animal that has reverted to wild behavior and is not tame to people. (The difference between "tame" and "domestic" is a whole other blog post!)

Many people don't understand that the word "stray" is used to define an animal that is "wandering at large without an owner" (per dictionary.com). It could be that the animal was abandoned by an owner who no longer wanted it. It could be that the animal never had a home - an example would be kittens born to a feral mother. But many strays are simply pets that got lost and have owners looking for them.

By Wisconsin State Law stray animals have to be held for 7 days and an effort to search for the owner is required. HAWS takes lost reports from owners of lost pets and keep them on file. It's amazing how many animals are taken in as strays and never reported missing -- It's about 40% for dogs, and 80% for cats!

We also check for ID tags and make an effort to follow through on the contact information. Unfortunately we sometimes take in animals that don't have current information -- if the number has been disconnected we have no way to track the owner.

We also check for a microchip -- which is a tiny computer chip about the size of a grain of rice that's been implanted in the back of the animal between the shoulder blades. An animal with a microchip can be scanned and the number can lead us back to the owner. Again - the registry needs current contact information in order for this to be useful.

If we can't find the owner and 7 days has passed without hearing for the owner the animal legally belongs to HAWS. Most animals who are healthy and non-aggressive go up for adoption. And most strays that we take in have obviously been in a home in their past since they are friendly to people, and some have been spayed or neutered.

Don't assume that "stray" means feral - many times it just means that the animal is a wonderful pet that just -- for whatever reason -- never found it's way home. One of my dogs was originally found as a stray -- I adopted Belle 14 years ago and couldn't ask for a sweeter girl.

I Could Never Work There

2010-11-22T15:46:00.008-06:00

This is a sentence that those of use who work in animal welfare hear regularly when we tell others what it is we do for a living. I generally assume that people mean that it would be so heartbreaking and depressing trying to cope with the sad stories and outcomes, that they wouldn't be able to emotionally handle it.

It is true that it takes a certain personality type to be able to handle some of the things we see -- there are sad stories that we have to cope with. I don't think there's anyone working here at HAWS that hasn't cried over some of the animals that have come through our doors.

But I think what most people who speak this sentence are missing, is that we do it because we feel we truly can make a difference, and because the stories with happy endings far outweigh the sad stories.

We get to see lost animals reunited with worried owners frantic to find them. We see animals with injuries rehabilitated and adopted out to new homes. Animals up for adoption that get passed over for months on end finally find the perfect family.

Recently one animal was surrendered to HAWS that had most of the staff over the moon in love with her. Oscar was surrendered by the daughter of her owner -- a man who was experiencing medical problems and could no longer care for her or give her the time she deserved. Many of us don't have parrot experience, and were suprised at just how much a Cockatoo has to give. As we discovered just how special and affectionate she was, she spent less and less time her her cage. For over a week Oscar could be found snuggling with one of our staff either behind the front desk, or in someone's office.

Oscar liked to have her neck rubbed, and would push her head into your hands when she wanted to ask for it. She loved to sit on shoulders, but even better was if someone was sitting down she'd sit on your lap and lean into your body. Oscar was all about the snuggling.

Although some of us had fantasized about keeping Oscar as an official HAWS mascot, we realized it wouldn't be the right thing for her. She really needed a home without the activity level of our shelter, and without the sounds of crowds on the weekends, and dogs barking. Because we were so taken with her, and because we knew that she required an adopter who understood parrots and how much attention they needed, we were looking for very special people. And we found them. Oscar's new owners has recently lost their Amazon Parrot to cancer and were ready for a new feathered friend. Their vet gave them an extremely high reference, and Oscar really seemed to like them.

We said goodbye to Oscar last week -- happy that she had the perfect home, and knowing that she was making two people very happy as well. That's what working in animal welfare is all about.

Motivation Impacts Learning

2010-11-15T16:45:00.011-06:00

One of the interesting things about the fact that I'm both a dog trainer and a humane educator is how many times things that apply to dogs is also relevant when trying to teach people.

My Lad Lake program this semester has been more challenging than the previous 2 semesters. For one thing the students are younger. Last school year the kids ranged in age from 13 to 18 years of age, while this semester I'm working with kids between the ages of 11 and 14. Also -- with the exception of one, this particular group of students really don't have a background with dogs. They don't have dogs, don't have a passion for dogs, and most have cats at home and are very much cat lovers.

I've struggled with getting the current group of boys motivated to work with HAWS dogs, and show the enthusiasm for training and canine behavior that the other two groups had. And I've had to apply a principle that dog trainers use all the time -- if the dog isn't learning and doesn't appear to be motivated try something else.

My original format consisted of a 20 minute PowerPoint with the remainder of the hour having the boys split up into two groups -- each working with their own designated adoptable dog. A few weeks I knew I was in trouble when I heard a couple of the boys complain that they were bored and didn't want to work with dogs. Part of it was frustration, and part of it was just that the program as it was set up was not working.

So I've changed a few things. I had them doing a competition to see who could get the most sits out of Mystic in a minutes time. I won at 25 sits - while each of the boys was able to do only 9 or 10 sits. And I used that as an opportunity to show the boys how to keep the dog engaged in training by holding his attention. Then they worked with their dogs and did the sit competition again, and really seemed enthusiastic about interacting with the dogs.

Another thing I did was to put together a case history for a dog named Jenna. Jenna is at HAWS, but currently isn't adoptable because she needs some training before she'll be ready for adoption. She is a very young dog who gets mouthy when she's frustrated or overly excited. HAWS Mod Squad -- a group of dedicated volunteers who have been trained to do behavior modification with HAWS shelter dogs, has been working with Jenna, but I also wanted to get the boys involved in her training.

I video taped her behavior and did a case history presentation. Then I asked the boys to brainstorm with me and talk about what her behavior problems were. I was amazed that all the boys were raising their hands and participating -- normally only one of the boys is eager to participate. And even better they made very valid contributions as to what her inappropriate behaviors were.

Then I asked them what we could do with training to improve her behavior. And again I was floored at the wonderful suggestions each of them came up with. They suggested that we train her to sit when people approach, work with her to be calm when petted, and teach her to be calm when her harness is being put on or taken off -- among other things.

The last few weeks we've still had a PowerPoint presentation, but then as a group we work with Jenna on those items for 10 or 15 minutes, and then they work in the two groups with their own dogs. And this seems to have made a huge difference in their attitudes towards the program. Not only are they seeing a tremendous difference in Jenna's behavior, but they are much more interested in working with the other dogs as well. And I even caught them working as a team and complimenting one another.

Kids Can Make a Difference!

2010-11-09T14:57:00.007-06:00

On Friday HAWS had a visit from the student council of Pewaukee Lake Elementary School. The students of the school decided to do a community service project for HAWS and collected a tremendous amount of items from our wish list. While it's always impressive when kids want to get involved and help out, what is even more extraordinary is that Pewaukee Lake's students are early childhood through 3rd grade!

The student council brought over the school's donations, and then received a tour so that they could see the animals their donations will benefit, and learn about what HAWS does for the community. And of course they were able to meet a few animals after the tour. Pearl the rabbit enjoyed meeting the kids and getting some attention. And humane education dog, Mystic, always enjoys meeting kids.

Teacher's Pet

2010-11-03T15:21:00.011-05:00

Having a pet in the classroom can be a wonderful experience for children. Students can learn about the responsibility involved for caring for a pet and develop empathy for others. Additionally a classroom pet can create lessons in a variety of subjects that can motivate students to learn. What part of the world the pet comes from works well into a geography lesson, and the food that the animal eats can develop into a lesson in nutrition or biology.

One of the problems teachers can find in having a classroom pet is that they may not want a pet to be their permanent responsibility -- especially when it comes to breaks in school in the winter, spring and summer, when the teacher would have to either care for the animal at home or make accomodations for him. And having a pet in the classroom may be a fantastic learning experience for the short-term, but not a good idea for the entire year.

A few years ago I developed a program where teachers can foster small animals through HAWS for a temporary basis. The Teacher's Pet program requires teachers to fill out a classroom foster application and promise to be completely responsible for the care and welfare of the animal. The animal is still a HAWS adoptable animal -- however is on loan to the classroom for however long the teacher would like to keep it.

Once the teacher gets their application to me we discuss what animals are currently at HAWS that would be available to become Teacher's Pet fosters. Animals appropriate for this program include rodents (hamsters, mice, rats, guinea pigs), birds such as parakeets and cockatiels, and some reptiles.

Once the animal has been chosen I bring the animal to the classroom and do a 1/2 hour long presentation to the class talking about what kind of a pet the animal makes, what food it eats, how to properly care for it, and how to handle it. The teacher is given a packet of information about the pet and caging, equipment, and a supply of food and bedding that will last a few weeks. While the animal is available for adoption while in the classroom, it stays until the class is finished with it. So far all of the animals in the Teacher's Pet program have been adopted by one of the students in that pet's classroom.

The wonderful thing about the Teacher's Pet program is that the classroom gets a pet for as long or as short of a time as the teacher wants it. It gives the teacher an option to have a pet other than purchasing a pet from a pet store, and then trying to find a home for it once the school year is over. The program is a great opportunity for HAWS to educate the teacher and the students about the care of the particular pet they've chosen. And since the pet has a sign on it's cage that it's a HAWS animal available for adoption, the parents and other members of the public that visit the classroom learn that HAWS has more than just dogs and cats available for adoption.

Today a dwarf hamster went to his new home in Mrs. McSorley's second grade classroom at University Lake School. The kids were very excited and enthusiastic. They all plan on bringing toilet paper tubes and small pieces of vegetable's for Mr. Pibb. And they asked wonderful questions about how often the water in his bottle should be changed and how often they should clean his cage. I have no doubt that Mr. Pibb is in great hands and that the kids will learn a lot from him.

Creatures of the Sea

2010-10-28T15:24:00.005-05:00

Last week I went to Atlanta, Georgia to attend the Association of Pet Dog Trainer's Conference. The conference itself was wonderful -- I learned about some fantastic studies on canine cognition, got some wonderful tips on dog training, and met up with old friends and met new friends.

While dogs are my first love, I'm am fascinated by animals of all kind. I was lucky enough to be able to get to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta the day before the start of the conference. The Georgia Aquarium is the largest in the world with exhibits that contain 8 million gallons of water!

It was a wonderful opportunity to see beluga whales, whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, manta rays, jelly fish and octopus.

Some of the smaller exhibits allowed me to get up close and see things like the lion fish and sea dragon (see the video!)

My favorite exhibits were the petting tanks where visitors have an opportunity to touch some of the sea animals. The highlight of my visit was petting bonnethead sharks and cownose rays.

Patience is a Virtue

2010-10-11T14:01:00.008-05:00

I think more than anything else in my life, working with dogs has had the biggest impact on my capacity to be patient. Dogs really can humble you -- once you think you have them figured out, they throw you a curve ball.

And I haven't learned to just be patient when working with dogs -- patience has permeated other aspects of my life. I've learned to empathize when dog owners are experiencing behavior problems, and when they're struggling to teach their own dog something new. I've also learned to be more patient in the non-doggy aspects of day to day living.

The current semester of PETS (Positive Empathy Training for Success) program I'm doing with Lad Lake -- a school for at-risk kids, has been underway for a month now. This is the third semester I've done this program, and this is the youngest group of kids that have participated. They range in age from 11 to 14 years of age.

PETS involves 20 minutes of PowerPoints on training, behavior and other dog related topics, and the last part of the hour has the kids working with shelter dogs. I've had to be more patient with this group of kids because they are younger, and so it's a bit more difficult for them to understand some of the concepts in the presentations. I've had to learn to go a bit slower with them, and to review concepts and terms as we go.

Some of the kids are students at Lad Lake precisely because they lack self control and don't have much in the way of patience. This is very evident with one of the PETS participants in particular. He is an extremely bright kid who loves to participate in discussion. He has very good problem solving ability. But he's a bit bossy with the other boys and interrupts when someone else is talking. He has so much promise if he can just learn some patience.

That's what the PETS program is all about. We still have 3 months to go in this semester, and I hope working with HAWS dogs can make a difference for him.

What Makes a Birthday Happy?

2010-10-04T16:51:00.011-05:00

What about spending it at an animal shelter playing games and interacting with animals?

HAWS had our first birthday on Friday for Katie Bies who turned 10 years old. For years we've had inquiries about parties, and we've always had to turn parents down since we really didn't have the available space to do it. With the addition of a second meeting room, we are finally able to offer this as a service.

HAWS birthday party packages are geared for kids between the ages of 6 and 12. For the older kids we have a mystery game in which a Tasmanian Tiger is missing from a zoo. The kids have to find out which one of their assigned characters have committed the tiger kidnapping by looking for clues throughout the shelter. Katie and her friends had a blast playing this game. When we hold parties for younger kids we will play more age appropriate games that will be just as fun.

Katie reads mystery game instructions to her guests.

After which the guests try to gather clues.

You've gotta have cake at a birthday party!

And of course meet some animals!

What's short, and long and doesn't belong in WI?

2010-09-23T14:49:00.005-05:00

Yesterday HAWS got a call from the Muskego Police Department asking us to come and pick up an animal. This isn't an unusual request -- HAWS does pick-ups of animals all over Waukesha County. Sometimes it's a stray cat, dog or even ferret that someone found. Sometimes it's a sick or injured native Wisconsin wild animal that we then transfer to a wild-life rehabilitation center.

What made this particular call unusual is that it was a wild animal that isn't native to Wisconsin.

Someone fishing in Big Muskego Lake had seen an alligator over a period of several days and was finally able to capture it. Obviously alligators are not a species native to Wisconsin. The alligator isn't talking, but we assume that he (she?) was someone's pet that had become too difficult to keep, and so that person decided to get rid it it by releasing it into the lake.

Unfortunately the easy way out for the human was the worst thing to do for the alligator. A native of the southeastern part of the United States, the American Alligator would be incapable of surviving the cold temperatures and icy water we get here during Wisconsin winters.

This is not the first alligator found in the midwest this year. About a month ago an alligator was found in the Chicago River -- most likely a victim of a different pet owner unable to care for an animal that was getting bigger and more aggressive.

American Alligators are very aggressive, can live up to 60 years, and can grow to be 13 feet long. It would be very difficult for most people to provide an appropriate habitat for an alligator when full grown, and it would be a dangerous animal to keep without proper precautions. It's not fair to keep a wild animal as a baby only to "get rid of it" as it grows and becomes more difficult to manage.

However, if someone does have an animal they can no longer keep, we encourage them to surrender them to their local animal shelter -- where the animal can be properly cared for.

In the meantime - the HAWS alligator is basking in the warmth of a heath lamp. In a few days he'll be transferred to a reputable rescue in Illinois where he'll get the care that he needs and deserves.

New Semester, New Start

2010-09-17T14:01:00.010-05:00

With the new school year I start my semester-long project with a group of boys from Lad Lake -- a non-profit organization that provides services to at-risk youth. Twice a week five boys from their Day Education Program come to HAWS to learn about dog behavior, training and other topics and actually do some hands on work with our adoptable dogs.

The goal is that they will develop empathy for others, learn patience, and get motivated for academics back at school.

The boys had their first two visits to HAWS this week. The Monday their visit consisted of an orientation to HAWS. They also got to meet Niya -- one of HAWS adoptables.

On Wednesday they watched a PowerPoint presentation on clicker training, had an opportunity to practice their clicker timing with an exercise, and were able to clicker train Mystic to put his toys away.

This is a trick I've worked with Mystic on a few times, but never seem to find the time to actually take it to the next level. The completed trick consists of dog toys scattered around the room -- the dog picks up each toy one at a time and deposits it into a box. By Wednesday's session with Lad Lake I had Mystic to the point where he could pick up a toy a few feet from the box and drop it in most of the time.

At Wednesday's session I warmed Mystic up by familiarizing him with a new box and getting him somewhat consistent with picking up a toy I'd dropped on the floor and putting it into a cardboard box. Then each boy took his turn with the clicker while I gave suggestions as far as when they should click.

The boys did great, however Mystic had a very difficult time when I placed two toys on the floor. He loves carrying around multiple soft toys in his mouth at the same time (his record is 5 at once!) and he just didn't have it in him to drop one toy and leave it behind before he picked up the second. With a little brainstorming the boys and I decided that once he had deposited one toy I would throw a second toy away from the box. This seemed to work better for him.

The Lad Lake boys may be very new at this, but they have excellent timing, and seemed to understand at one point that Mystic wasn't misbehaving, but was a little stressed out. I think this is going to be a wonderful semester.

Animals Aren't People

2010-09-07T11:08:00.012-05:00

Over the weekend I went hiking with my dogs. It was a perfect day -- not too hot, and the good company of a friend and her dogs. Mystic suddenly veered off the path, disappeared for a few seconds, and came out of the brush proudly displaying his find. It was the bone of some poor deer that had died from unknown causes. Mystic saw it as a prize -- proudly holding it in his mouth and running down the path. I saw it as a bit disgusting.

One of the most wonderful thing about pets is that animals aren't people. Most pets enjoy our attention, and require very little for them to love us. One of the worst things for many people is that animals aren't people.

Let's face it, we find poop disgusting -- while many dogs like to sniff, roll in, or even worse, eat it. We don't like it when cats scratch up our furniture. Rabbit biting you when you reach in the cage? Almost unforgivable! We want our pets to stop doing such offensive and disagreeable behaviors.

But the truth is -- animals are not people. They have their own instincts, behaviors, and a very different way of looking at the world. While this makes them fascinating to be around, it can also be vexing as a pet owner dealing with behaviors that may not fit in with the "human" way of doing things.

While some of these behaviors can be trained out or modified so that the pet fits in better in our families, we also have to realize that there may have to be some compromise and even allowances of our pet's natural behaviors.

Instead of punishing a cat for scratching -- which is a natural cat behavior, we can teach them to only scratch on a scratching post instead. Instead of getting mad when the rabbit bites and decide not to handle them at all, we can find ways to make it so that the rabbit doesn't feel a need to bite. Rabbits can be territorial and dislike having their space invaded. Allowing the rabbit to come out of his cage on his own instead of being pulled out will make things easier for both of you.

Many dog owners would have made their dogs drop the disgusting deer bone. But I couldn't see any reason that Mystic shouldn't continue to carry it -- since it made him happy. The compromise was that he wasn't bringing it home with us -- I made him drop it at the edge of the parking lot.

Another Summer Ended

2010-08-18T15:36:00.006-05:00

Ok -- summer isn't exactly over yet, but HAWS summer session of Kids 'N Critters Day Camp has ended. Last week I was happy to get some respite from kids for a few weeks so I could start planning for the school year before first semester starts. This week it feels unnaturally quiet in the building, and to be honest working at the computer is becoming tedious. I can't wait until school starts up again so I can work with kids.

This summer HAWS had 430 kids between the ages of 6 and 14 years visit HAWS. It was a summer of a lot of firsts for us.

It was the first time we had 2 rooms in which to run camp -- and so it was also the first time we ran 2 different camps at the same time. It was the first time we had 40 (some sessions a few more!) kids attending camp at the same time. It was the first time we ran two brand new specialty camps; Camp Gone to the Dogs and Shutterbug Camp.

The best response on the survey we sent out to the parents came from one of the kids. This respose said: "All of the animals we interacted with were friendly. None of them were mean that we came across. It taught me stuff that I wouldnt have known.Some day I would like to become a vet. So this camp was very fun and helpful to me."

Based on that I'd say camp was a success.

Finding Horse Sense

2010-08-09T21:21:00.013-05:00

One of the specialty camps HAWS holds every summer is a horseback riding field trip camp. The field trip of the week is an chance to learn about an animal we don't have at HAWS, and to get to do something many kids don't have an opportunity to experience.

Our first few years we went on trail rides -- but since HAWS really wants the kids to learn something about the animals they interact with, I wasn't entirely satisfied with the fact that we were just getting a ride without taking away knowledge.

A few years ago we were lucky enough to learn about Knollwood Farm in Hartland. Their Riding School Director, Nancy Turner, puts together a wonderful experience for HAWS campers. We spend an afternoon at Knollwood and the kids get a tour of the facility, learn about appropriate behavior around horses, learn how to groom and put on tack, and get a riding lesson.

Some of the things we've learned at Knollwood are: Always keep your hand on the horse when you're walking around them so that they know where you are. Taking care of a horse is a lot of hard work. Riding horses involves muscles you never knew you had -- and they will hurt the next day.

One of the best lessons wasn't officially part of the program. Knollwood has a 34 year old horse living there -- with a life expectancy of 25-30 years, that is a very old horse. I unfortunately don't remember the name of the horse, but I'm impressed with the compassion a business can have for an animal that served for so many years. This geriatric, blind horse is kept comfortable and is obviously loved by employees and students of Knollwood alike. I hope HAWS camper's learned something about compassion through this experience.

Shutterbug Camp

2010-08-01T00:18:00.023-05:00

A few years ago I noticed that we had a lot of kids coming to camp with cameras - snapping away as though they were on an African safari seeing animals in their natural habitat for the first time.

I think it's human nature to want to have something to remember what we've experienced, and photography is a perfect medium for that. We humans rely quite a bit on our sight over our other senses - and photographs are visual documentation of our lives.

When I was looking for new things to do with camp I thought that having a camp combining animals and photography might be a good idea. In a past life I was a professional photographer, and so I have a unique skill to be able to pass on as a Humane Educator.

The first day of camp I showed a photography PowerPoint and talked about lighting, perspective, and composition with examples to show the kids. I talked about "rules" that photographers rely on -- such as the "rule of thirds", and then told the kids that rules are made to be broken. I encouraged them to try new things -- turn the flash off, use the flash outside, move around, take photos from all different angles. With digital photography we have an advantage that you can take as many photos as you want at no additional cost, and you can see what you've taken instantaneously.

The kids did an amazing job -- as you can see by the photos on this page.

Part of the camp was making a photo album through WinkFlash which will be mailed to them when the order is delivered. These types of books are readily available at any number of companies -- the photos are printed right onto paper and bound in a book. It will be a nice reminder of their time spent at HAWS Kids 'N Critters Day camp.

These are pages from several of the books the kids put together. They were able to choose different templates for each page, and even write captions to accompany the photographs.

During the week of Shutterbug Camp Dr. Patricia McConnell was kind enough to bring her dogs Will and Hope for a visit.

She talked about dog training, had the kids train Hope to do a few tricks, and allowed them to take photos of the dogs. Willie and Hope were movie stars for a day while the HAWS paparrazi snapped away.

A field trip to the Milwaukee County Zoo gave the kids plenty of photo-ops.

I also brought in some studio lighting and a backdrop so that the kids could get a little experience using professional lighting.

But overall the kids just did their own thing whenever we had animals out -- which was most of the day. And they really developed some phenomenal shutterbug skills!

Art Camp

2010-07-18T21:07:00.009-05:00

Over the years HAWS has increasingly incorporated specialty camps into our schedule. One of the first specialty camps we started with is Art Camp.

For a week kids between the ages of 10 and 14 years attend our Art Camp. In the morning they do the things that our other camps do -- walk dogs, play with cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and other animals, do some volunteer work, and play some games. In the afternoon they create artwork.

Kristin Gjerdset, an associate professor of art at Wisconsin Lutheran College, spends several hours each day that week with the kids helping them capture animals in their artwork. Art is about really looking at things and intrepreting what you see. HAWS hopes that Art Camp helps kids see animals in a new way -- as creations that deserve to be respected and protected as creatures of beauty.

I'd say we achivieved that this year. Additionally -- we have a lot of very talented young artists in our community. Take a look at some of the pieces and I think you'll agree.

Love Happens to Cockatoo

2010-07-14T19:55:00.004-05:00

I saw a Jennifer Aniston movie on DVD the other night called "Love Happens". In one scene the male lead in the movie, Burke, decides to follow up on the promise he made to his deceased wife to free her pet Cockatoo if anything happened to her. And so he takes the bird out to the woods in Seattle and releases it.

A beautiful sentiment, however extremely inhumane. Had Burke bothered to do any research before he rashley decided to free a bird used to being cared for by people he would have found that this was a bad idea.

Cockatoos are native to Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. It's not likely that a cockatoo would be able to survive a winter in Seattle where it gets down to as low as 40F.

Additionally -- animals raised in captivity were never taught survival skills. Releasing a pet bird to fend for itself could end up with his being unable to properly forage and know how to avoid dangerous situations.

I know this is "just a movie", but it still bothered me that such an irresponsible act was portrayed in film without the plot line indicating in some way just what the possible consequences could be for the bird.

HAWS -- Not Just For Mammals!

2010-07-01T22:38:00.010-05:00

Many times people are amazed to find out that we get animals other than dogs and cats, and are even more suprised to find out that we'll take reptiles. HAWS can go months and months without seeing any reptiles come through our doors. That was the case until recently.

Currently we have several turtles of the species Red Eared Slider, two Bearded Dragons, and an albino Corn Snake.

The kids from HAWS Kids 'N Critters Day Camp especially loved meeting the Bearded Dragons. Their reactions ranged from "cool!" -- to "they're weird looking". Most of the kids wanted to hold them, although some of the kids were a bit unsure about it once their turn came.

Bearded Dragons get their name because if threatened the expand the area under their chin - puffing their necks out to look bigger and more threatening themselves. The two we currently have are used to being handled, and so didn't feel the need to threaten any of us -- my research found that Beardies are one of the easiest lizards to keep as pets because of their tolerance for handling.

Getting unusual animals in at HAWS gives me an opportunity to educate kids about animals they most likely aren't familiar with. The more knowledge they have about the natural habitat of exotic animals and what kind of requirements there are for proper care, the better choices we hope kids will make in the future. If we can get them in the habit of asking questions about animals and instill a desire to learn about them, it might cause them to research prospective pets before their bring them home.

Good pet ownership starts wtih making appropriate choices. HAWS hopes that through our education programs we're planting that seed with the youth of Waukesha County.

Kids Thinking Pawsitive at Agility

2010-06-28T20:24:00.006-05:00

Each week-long session of HAWS Kids 'N Critters Day Camp goes on an animal related field trip. Last week's session of Camp Gone to the Dogs had a fantastic opportunity to visit Think Pawsitive Dog Training in Oconomowoc.

Think Pawsitive, owned by Katie Oilschlager, specializes in the canine sport of Agility. Agility is a fast moving sport consisting of an obstacle course and requiring teamwork on the part of the dog and it's handler.

It takes some time, training and practice before a dog and it's handler are ready to do many of the obstacles properly. In order to give the campers a true sense of what Agility is, the kids used dogs who have been trained in the sport. Katie's dog Rella volunteered for duty, along with Dixie (who belongs to HAWS employee Cassie Gugin), and Mystic.

Katie did an excellent job explaining what agility is, and had the kids practice doing obstacles without the dogs. One of the more difficult obstacles is the weave poles -- the dog always enters the poles with the first pole on his left. Katie had the kids go through the poles themselves.

Then they got to work with the dogs. Fortunately the kids had worked with adoptable HAWS dogs for four days before they did agility because they had already learned how to be motivating and patient with dogs. Those skills came in handy -- although the dogs were good at agility they were working with complete strangers and so needed a little extra effort.

The campers had a fantastic time. Many of them have attended HAWS camps in the past, and they told me doing agility was the best field trip they'd been on. And Katie, Cassie and I were grateful that they tired our dogs out.

Below is video from that day - enjoy!

Camp Gone to the Dogs!

2010-06-17T21:43:00.015-05:00

It was an idea I toyed with for our summer camps several years ago, but at that time it just wasn't feasible. Back then our camps consisted of up to 24 kids at a time confined for the most part to just one room. Restricting the number to a smaller group would have meant a loss of income for HAWS. And there wasn't any way for us to pull it off with 24 kids.

The idea was that a small group of kids would have the same dog to work with for an entire week. With the building addition the idea became much more realistic since we now have two fairly large rooms in which to hold camp. This year's camp consists of two sessions running at the same time. So while one room can hold 24 kids attending a "regular" session of camp, the smaller room can allow a group of 15 kids to attend a different camp during the same week.

Tomorrow will be the last day of our first session ever of "Camp Gone to the Dogs", and it couldn't have gone better. Kids between the ages of 9 and 13 years were placed into groups of 3, and each group assigned a dog for the week. During the camp day the kids are responsible for walking, grooming and training "their" dog. If the dog poops on a walk the kids have to pick up and dispose of it. When the dogs are taken out of or returned to their kennels the kids have to ensure that the kennel is clean -- if it isn't they have to clean it.

About half of the 7 hour camp day is spent with the dogs. The rest of the time the campers are involved in other activities such as watching short PowerPoint presentations on dog safety, training, and canine body language. They meet other HAWS animals such as cats, rabbits, turtles and HAWS education snake. They baked Salmon Training treats, and then had the opportunity to use them in training.

Not only do the kids love this camp, but the dogs are gaining huge benefits from it as well. With a minimum of 2 walks and 2 training sessions a day, as well as opportunities to just "hang" with their kids to get petting, massages and brushing - they get more attention and exercise than any other dog in the shelter. And I'm amazed at what a wonderful job they are doing with the dogs. The training is fantastic -- I never thought they'd be able to lure Jersey into a down -- but she's doing it with just a verbal cue already! And our little Bichon Sherlock looks so handsome now that the girls gave him a bath and spent a lot of time brushing him.

I want to thank the kennel and adoption staff for putting up with this camp program this week. Shelter Manager Kelly made sure we had enough kid-suitable dogs by going to Milwaukee Domestic Animal Control Commission and transferring a large number of dogs to HAWS a few weeks before camp started. Our kennel staff has had to endure kids wandering through the kennels to take out and return dogs to their kennels. And our adoption staff had to let potential adopters know that they couldn't take the camp dogs home for a week. This really was a shelter collaborative effort!

We have two more sessions of Camp Gone to the Dogs left and I'm excited at the impact this will have on both the kids and dogs involved. I'll let you know how it goes.

Endings and Beginnings

2010-06-04T16:21:00.006-05:00

I can't believe that the school year is almost over (already finished for some schools)!

I just graduated another group of boys from Lad Lake through our Positive Empathy Training Program. Each week 6 boys came to HAWS on Monday and Wednesdays to learn about a dog related topic and train HAWS adoptable dogs.

What was really interesting about working with the boys is that they would sometimes appear to be bored and not really paying attention, and then later they'd say something that told me they really were listening to what I had to say. It was very gratifying to hear them tell each other to ease up on a dog that was stressed, and point out all the stress signals the dog was displaying.

I will miss these young men, and hope nothing but the best for their futures. I look forward to working with a new group of Lad Lake boys next fall.

In the meantime I'm getting ready for another summer of our Kids 'N Critters Day Camp. With our building expansion we now have much more space and are actually going to be running two different camps concurrently. I'm looking forward to some of the new activities I've added to the schedule -- such as clicker training cats and dogs in their cages. It's another way for the kids to be hands on with the animals -- something both parents and campers have been asking about.

Keep an eye out for future blogs about camp -- especially the new specialty camp I'm calling "Camp Gone to the Dogs".

When Opportunity Knocks

2010-05-22T19:09:00.004-05:00

One of the things I've learned over the years in my job is that you have to be flexible when doing presentations. Sometimes training demonstrations with dogs don't go as planned, sometimes kids ask questions that take you off track, and sometimes things happen that end up being a really great education opportunity.

Yesterday I participated in a High Interest Day at St. John Vianney School in Brookfield. Whether they're called High Interest Day, Try-It Day, or Kid's Choice Day (depending on the school) -- they are very popular this time of year. The school brings a variety of presenters in on topics as varied as karate, rock climbing, baking, criminal forensics, and pets. The idea is to give kids a way to try new things and perhaps find where their interests may take them.

This year St. John Vianney asked me to talk about pet care to three different groups of kids. As we were playing a pet care game some of the kids were petting Mystic, and interrupted me to ask about a bump they'd found near his ear. Thinking it was an irritation left over from the tick I had removed the day before I told them not to worry about it. But they were insistant that it was huge and I should look at it.

It turned out to be a dog tick -- already dead because I treat Mystic with Frontline. As I removed the tick I talked about how pet ownership sometimes involves doing something unpleasant - such as pulling out a tick. Then I talked about the fact that Mystic is treated with Frontline -- which is a tick and flea preventative and the fact that dogs can get Lyme disease from ticks.

Of course pulling a tick from Mystic wasn't part of my presentation, but what a great opportunity to show them one of the more unpleasant sides of pet ownership!

That same day I had another opporunity. Three years ago at a different school's High Interest Day I trained Mystic to "play the piano". I haven't had him around a piano since -- so when I saw that there was a piano in the room where I was working with the kids I decided to see if he still remembered how to do it. You can see the results in the video below.

Kids in a Shark Tank

2010-05-14T11:12:00.004-05:00

What do you get when you put three innovative kids into a shark tank?

It turns yout that you get compassionate hearts, great ideas, and a generous donation to HAWS!

Brooke Zyla, Jacob Vance and Ashlyn Denniston took part in their school's Shark Tank contest -- based on the TV show of the same name.

Brooke, Jacob and Ashlyn put together a presentation that was given to the students and faculty of their school -- Merton Intermediate. They came up with the concept of selling suckers with the proceeds to benefit the needy animals of Waukesha County by donation to HAWS.

Not only did they win, but they sold enough suckers to donate $190.00 to HAWS -- a tremendous amount of money!

HAWS would like to thank not only Brooke, Jacob and Ashlyn, but all of Merton Intermediate for supporting our cause!

Wagging Tails

2010-05-07T16:50:00.004-05:00

One of the myths I hear quite often from both children and adults is that a when a dog wags his tail it means he's happy. Unfortunately this is a misconception that can be dangerous to someone who thinks it's safe to approach a dog simply because he's wagging his tail.

The truth is that a wagging tail by itself only tells us how excited or aroused a dog may be. To know whether is a dog is friendly, aggressive, or fixated or something behaviorists and trainers look at other parts of the dog.

Learning how to "read dog" is not an easy thing to do. Professionals go to seminars, read books, watch videos and observe dogs for months or even years before they feel comfortable enough to say they are good at reading canine body language. "Reading dog" consists of looking at the eyes, ears, mouth, facial expression, tail and body posture. What makes it even more difficult is that some body language is fleeting and you need to be very focused and observant if you are watching a dog who is overly excited or aroused since you can easily miss a split second change in expression. (People have this too -- called "micro-expression". This was first discovered by Dr. Paul Ekman and is the basis for the TV show Lie to Me.)

While I talk extensively to children about when it is safe and when it is dangerous to approach a dog, I talk very little about body language since it's difficult enough for a professional to learn how to read. One thing I do tell them is that you can't just look at a wagging tail to tell you if a dog is safe or not. A happy friendly dog wags not just his entire tail, but his body as well.

In the videos below I have examples of two different tail wags. The first video is of my dogs. They aren't overly excited, but their whole bodies move along with their tails. The second is of a dog who is overly aroused by the movement of the scooter going past. His body is stiff as he runs back and forth, and his tail is held high and wags stiffly as well. Which dog would you want to pet?

Tour Season at HAWS

2010-04-30T19:53:00.007-05:00

Tour season at HAWS official starts with the beginning of the school year in September - with about 1,700 people coming through to see our facility and learn about what it is we do in Waukesha County. But it really goes full force in April and May near the end of the school year.
Most of the tours are given to kids between the ages of 5 and 14 -- many of them scouts.

Tours generally begin with a talk about what we do at HAWS and the reasons animals end up there. We also discuss what kinds of responsibilities are involved with pet ownership and encourage kids to do research before they get a pet so that they can be sure that they are committed to proper can and that the type of animal they get is right for their lifestyle.

Then we walk through the shelter -- introduce our adoptable dogs, cats, rabbits and other animals. We walk through our kitchens and laundry area. If the visitors are old enough we stop in our SNIP clinic and talk about 0ver-population and the benefits of spaying and neutering pets.

Today's visitors were from Girl Scout Troop #2684. The 10 and 11 year old girls asked great questions, melted over the animals that they saw, and brought a ton of donations.
At the end of every tour we bring out a few animals for our guests to meet. Today the girls met Dotty the English Spot rabbit, and Jessie the puppy. They had such a great time they really didn't want to leave; we hope they come back soon.

Circus School For Dogs

2010-04-23T21:10:00.008-05:00

What makes animals behave the way they do? How does our own behavior influence how an animal behaves? How can we get them to behave the way we want them to?

Last weekend 74 animal professionals congregated at Think Pawsitive Dog Training in Oconomowoc to learn the answers to these questions and more at a seminar hosted by HAWS with speaker Sophia Yin, DVM.

Police officers, humane officers, vets, vet techs, and dog trainers who wanted to learn more about how best to interact with the furry members of our community and gain new skills in their profession were in attendance. Dedicated animal rescuers and shelter volunteers also came to learn, as well as people with a strong interest in animal behavior and training.

After a day and a half of sitting and learning attendees had an opportunity to put some of what they learned in a Sunday afternoon program entitled "Circus School For Dogs".

101 Things to Do with a Box is a great training game for both dogs and people. It allows the human to learn how to train by letting the dog "offer" behaviors. It allows the dog to "figure it out" and use their brain.

Some of the other things attendees learned are profiled in the video below.

Boys, Alligators and Lion Cubs

2010-04-09T21:33:00.011-05:00

I spent this last week -- the week most kids have off of school for spring break, with a group of really great kids from another organization. 3 or 4 kids who's lives have been affected by domestic violence came to spend time at HAWS, learn about what we do for animals and spent most of their days hands on with adoptable pets.

Two of the boys were brothers and were very enthusiastic about everything. They told me about a baby alligator they had been able to pet, and the fact that it had it's mouth taped shut. I know that many educational reptile organizations do this with alligators, and so it really didn't phase me.

Later that day one of the boys mentioned how cool it would be to have a lion cub as a pet. "A lion is a wild animal", I said. "Wild animals aren't pets".

"Sometimes they are", one of the boys replied.

"But they don't make good pets", I responded. "Look at that baby alligator you guys got to pet. It's mouth had to be taped shut so it didn't hurt you".

"But baby lions aren't dangerous", they argued.

Trying hard to stay calm I said, "Yes, but they don't stay babies forever. They grow very quickly, and once they get older they become very dangerous -- too dangerous to pet or play with. Would you want a pet like that?"

"No, but then we could give it here."

Trying to reason with them I responded -- "Why would HAWS want a lion? It wouldn't be safe to adopt out and we couldn't keep it here forever."

I'm not sure I got through to them -- the boys didn't seem to be getting the message. But I also know that sometimes you can plant a seed in a child's mind and that it stays with them and they get it later. I hope that a lot of what they experienced at HAWS this week takes root and makes an impact on their lives.

It's Kitten Season!

2010-03-25T13:51:00.008-05:00

People who aren't involved in animal sheltering often laugh when I use that term. But it's a common phrase used by those of use who work or volunteer at an animal shelter -- especially in the northern climates where we actually have a winter.

While cats can have up to 3 litters a year -- up here in the great white north animal shelters get very few kittens in the winter. Part of it may be that un-spayed pet cats lucky enough to be kept in the house are less likely to go outside and get themselves in trouble. Part of it may be that the survival of outdoor kittens born in the wintertime is a long-shot.

Kitten season here in Wisconsin generally starts in March -- but don't stop in hoping to choose a kitten from several litters as we don't have many up for adoption. The kittens we're getting in right now are too young to be away from Mom. They're found by members of the community in sheds, under porches, and anywhere else that a mother kitten might think it's safe to raise a family. Most of the time they're brought in without their mother.

It might seem cruel for a baby animal to be taken away from Mom, but the reality is that it's better for the kitten. Most of the kittens being brought in are born to barn or feral cats -- felines that aren't used to interacting with humans and behave more like wild animals. If their kittens aren't handled at a young age they will become feral themselves.

We have a whole slew of human foster parents on stand-by waiting for kittens to come in. Our volunteers take them home along with kitten baby bottles, formula and heating pads to give them a chance at life. Foster parents get up for middle of the night feedings, worry about sick kitties, and occasionally cry over the ones who weren't strong enough to make it. But when the kittens reach 8 weeks and are old enough and strong enough to go up for adoption it makes it all worth it.

Stop in at HAWS in the middle of May -- that's when the kitten season for adopters begins!

Saratoga School Artists

2010-03-12T11:48:00.006-06:00

Kids are very creative and love to draw. A few Monday's ago I asked my after-school Saratoga School students to draw their favorite animals. Here are a few of their creations:

Ashley loves dogs....

...and obviously has a good sense of humor!

I love that Tracy didn't forget about our non-feathered friends!

And I love giraffes just like Abbi!

A Case of Multiplication

2010-03-06T22:27:00.005-06:00

Math was never my strong suit - in school I much preferred reading and writing to 'rithmatic. When I was with the kids from Blair Elementary School in Waukesha on Friday for my after-school program visit, many of them felt the same way. Of the 10 kids present, only 3 raised their hands when I asked if they like math.

However, I brought along a math problem for us to work on together, and we all found it much more enjoyable and informative than math usually is. ASPCA has a website for kids called Animal Land. It has a ton of fun resources to educate kinds about animals -- cartoons, news stories and activity sheets are just a few of it's offerings.

Friday I used one of the activity sheets entitled Rabbits, Rabbits and More Rabbits to give the kids a frame of reference as to what can happen if an unspayed female animal is allowed to breed. After a year and 3 months you end up with 100 rabbits. While this is a great biological mechanism for a wild bunny where the survival rate is extremely low, this is a disaster for a pet.

I knew that some of the kids would get it after my presentation and discussion, but I was really impressed that most of them really understood the ramifications of over-population and not spaying or neutering. Before we did the math problem Joseph had said, "But what if you want to breed your pet?". And afterward when we were talking about how to take care of 100 bunnies and probably not being able to find homes for them all I could tell he was re-thinking his original question.

Activities like this are so simple to do, and yet open up a wonderful avenue for discussion with kids. Not only did we talk about spaying and neutering pets, but also about what makes a good breeder, the fact that just because animals are cute doesn't mean that they are healthy enough to be bred, and gave me a chance to review what HAWS is and why we take in animals.

And as always, the best part of the visit was the animal I brought - a rabbit of course. Beauty charmed the kids and had a blast trying to figure out ways to break out of the circle of kids. She was able to explore quite a bit of the library while performing evasive manuevers in the meantime.

I know meeting Beauty was the kid's favorite part of my visit, but I'm hopeful they will remember our math problem as they grow older and get pets of their own.

Two Points of View

2010-02-27T19:10:00.010-06:00

I was at the dog park the other day and observed another owner calling his dog. "Fred Come!" He called several times -- with the dog ignoring him until the 3rd or 4th recall when the dog decided he would respond and starting running to his owner.

I was apalled when, as the dog got about half-way there, the owner yelled in a very gruff, growling voice "Get over here!" And was even more upset when the dog finally arrived only to have his owner roughly grab him by the scruff, lean down, stare right into his eyes and start yelling at him again.

The dog trainer in me hurt for the dog. From the dog's point of view this is what happened. Fred decided to respond to the owner's cue, he got yelled at it as he was responding, and then when he finally arrived he got physically punished and yelled at some more. Not only is this really, really bad training (why would the dog want to come when called if this is the consequence?), but in my mind it's horribly abusive.

Quite frankly it ruined my visit to the dog park. I didn't feel that I could approach the owner about it -- my experience is that when you give unasked for advice it's generally met with anger and hostility. And so I abandoned the dog to his fate and left angry at the owner.

These past few days I've tried to think of it from the perspective of the owner. I can't believe that he doesn't love that dog. Really, would a person who didn't care about their dog bother to take him to a dog park and spend a part of their weekend day giving their dog an opportunity to run off leash? This is the act of someone who really does care.

Not to use this as an example of appropriate parenting, but if Fred were a child it would make more sense. A child is asked to come over to the parent, the child dawdles and has to be asked several times, and as the child finally heads towards the parent is chastised for not responding the first time. Children are capable of understanding that the yelling is for not responding the first time they are asked.

What pet owners need to understand is that our pets aren't capable of this type of understanding. The consequence they receive will apply to whatever they are doing at the exact moment it's delivered. So yelling at the dog as he is coming is punishing him for coming. The owner should have been heaping praise on his dog for coming when called, and then made a mental note to work more on recalls so that the dog would respond faster in the future.

But sometimes those of us who love animals are very judgemental about the way others treat their pets. And what we have to understand and continually remind ourselves is that not everyone has the same level of education when it comes to the care and treatment of animals.

My job as Humane Educator is to attempt to give people the tools they need to be better pet owners. Being an advocate for the pet means not only seeing it from the animal's point of view, but trying also to see it from the owner's point of view. Only through understanding how others see things will I be able to find a way to reach them and help change the way our pets are treated. Hopefully this is a lesson I'll remember.

Almost Done!

2010-02-19T17:22:00.005-06:00

HAWS went through construction the last 6 months of 2009. We endured sawing, pounding, dust and inconvenience for many months while space was added, and parts of the existing building were torn apart and remodeled.

Moving into new space has been very exciting -- the animals have bigger, cleaner space to inhabit, and our staff is able to care for them because of a better floor plan. One last part of the building has yet to be moved into -- until today.

Formerly our rabbit and small animal room was converted from someone's office and only about 72 square feet and animals spilled out into the hallway. We sometimes had as many as 17 rabbits, 4 guinea pigs, several cages of birds, several cages of rodents, and a reptile or two all at the same time. To say it was crowded is an understatement!

The new space is comprised of two rooms. One is the former room, and the other is about 100 square feet. New caging for the rabbits has been ordered and will be here soon, and new guinea pig caging has aready been set-up. In the meantime the moving in-process has been started.

The photos show the bigger of the new room, and Cookie the guinea pig about to be placed in her brand new cage. The new room is definately bigger, and is certainly a brighter and much more cheery than the old space.

So stop on in and see the rest of the building soon - whether you're considering adding to your family or not!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

2010-02-11T15:44:00.007-06:00

I think a lot of us wanted a dog just like Lassie when we were growing up. Not only was she smart and a protector of Timmy, but she had that beautiful long hair flowing as she ran. Would Lassie have been quite so popular had she been a Smooth Coated Collie -- the short-haired version of her breed?

Many people are attracted to long haired animals as pets. There's just something about luxurious locks on a rabbit, cat or dog that attracts us.

Unfortunately too many people don't think about how much care long hair requires on an animal -- despite the fact that people comment all the time about how much work their own long hair is, or how much easier it is to care for a shorter hair cut.

All too often HAWS gets in animals that have been neglected by their owners and need a haircut because the fur is extremely matted. Matted hair on an animal is unsanitary and painful. The more matted it is, the more it pinches or pulls at the skin as the animal moves.

The dog in the photo came in for surgery through HAWS low-cost Spay and Neuter Program. The owner loves this dog -- why else would she bother to have him neutered? But she was a bit uneducated as to his grooming requirements. Our staff was able to talk her into having him shaved and you can see the result -- it looks more like sheep wool after having been sheared rather than hair after a cut!

If you realize that you've neglected your pet's hair and have some matts your best bet is to take him to a groomer. Trying to get matts out is a delicate process that could result in the dog being cut if you do it wrong. A professional touch is needed to ensure your pet isn't hurt, but also ends up with an attractive new "do".

Second Chances

2010-01-29T10:31:00.012-06:00

One of my favorite radio shows is "This American Life" broadcast locally on Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR 90.7). "This American Life" tells stories of Americana in small segments. Each week they have a theme and profile true stories within that theme through interviews and authors reciting essays.

Showtime has picked up This American Life as a television series and because I've enjoyed the program so much over the radio, I've started to rent the DVDs. This is how I learned about Second Chance.

Second Chance is a bull. More specifically he is the cloned bull of one family's beloved pet now deceased. The original bull, Chance, was tame enough that he was allowed to wander their property without fences or tethers. Chance was used in several Hollywood movies and TV shows. David Letterman rode him on his show. Children played with him.

As Chance became geriatric and his family faced his inevitable demise they heard about cloning studies being done at Texas A&M University and lobbied hard to have the university clone their beloved Chance. Despite the fact that the University doesn't clone pets they eventually caved and allowed it to be done as they needed a geriatric animal to clone as part of their research.

This story reminds me very much of something I experience listening to pet owners after they've lost a beloved pet and come to HAWS. Going through the grief and loss of their family member and love for animals people frequently come by HAWS to find a new pet. Many times grieving pet owners are looking for an animal that resembles the pet that they lost. They cling to the hope that because the animal looks the same that it will behave the same.

The very sad ending to the segment on "This American Life" is that Second Chance wasn't anything like the original Chance. Second Chance severely gored his owner - not once, but twice. Second Chance may have looked like his predecessor and even had the exact same genetic material, but it didn't mean he was the same -- not by a long shot.

Each human being is an individual with our own personalities. Even identical twins are their own person. We have to realize this is true of our pets as well. As unfortunate as it is, most of the animals we've chosen to keep as pets will not live as long as we want them to.

But each of us can have a second chance, and we all can give another living being a second chance. While we cannot replace a beloved pet by getting one that looks and behaves the exact same, we can learn to love an animal for their own individual personalities and traits. And by adopting an animal you can give them an opportunity to have a forever family that they might not otherwise have.

Another Rascal Post

2010-01-18T15:56:00.005-06:00

One of the things that amazed me the most about Rascal is his work with my students from Lad Lake. The Lad Lake boys have been working twice a week training dogs at HAWS since first semester started in September. They had been working with Rascal almost from the beginning.

HAWS has a copy of the DVD "Take a Bow Wow Wow" and "Bow Wow Take 2" that one of it's producer's, Virginia Broitman donated to HAWS for use in our work with at-risk kids. The boys watched the videos and used a lot of it when they were teaching Rascal his various tricks such as spin, take a bow and rollover. One day they asked if they could teach Rascal to open and close cabinet doors. I was suprised that they wanted to teach something somewhat compicated, but we set about doing it.

At the time the boys started this project they had been working with Rascal for quite some time. Rascal was clicker-wise, and the boys fairly experienced in their training skills. I still didn't anticipate how quickly Rascal learned how to open and close cabinet doors. Even better was the teamwork that the boys displayed as they worked through this training problem.

Luckily I got it on video -- enjoy!

Rascal Went Home!

2010-01-07T15:06:00.004-06:00

Something I hear on a regular basis from people who don't work at HAWS is "I could never work in a shelter". While it can be sad and heartbreaking to deal with the issues we see daily in an animal shelter, seeing animals go to new homes with good families makes it all worth our while. Earlier this week our entire staff was overjoyed when Rascal finally went home after living here for 5 months.

Rascal was brought to HAWS on August 5, 2009 because his owners couldn't have him at their new place. As a Pit Bull his breed automatically made him a difficult placement. Not only are people leery about adopting them due to their bad reputations, HAWS also has additional restrictions on them. Many insurance companies will not provide home owners or renters insurance to families with pits as pets, and so one of our requirements is proof of insurance. We also do a little more scrutiny on potential adopters since we want to make sure our adopted dogs actually end up as beloved members of the family -- rather then fighting other dogs.

Unfortunately Pit Bulls get a bad rap. Yes -- they are large powerful dogs, but then so are Labrador Retrievers and Malamutes. Yes, they can cause damage when they bite, but then so can Border Collies and Dalmatians. Pit Bulls are one of the breeds that lead the lists for bite statistics, but those statistics are misleading.

Are Pit Bulls more dangerous because they make the list, or do they make the list because there are many more of them in the USA than there are, as an example, Old English Sheepdogs? It's difficult to know. The AKC lists the top 10 breeds in the USA each year, but Pit Bulls are not an AKC breed and so wouldn't be listed since they can't be registered. As a matter of fact, Pit Bulls aren't really a breed, but more of a type and include the American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers and their mixes.

One of HAWS functions is as a bite case facility -- we quarantine animals who have bitten a human breaking skin to ensure that the animal does not have rabies. Many times we have at least one or more dogs in our kennels with "bite case" signs on their cages. Very rarely are those bite case dogs Pit Bulls (we see many other breeds such as German Shepherds, Cocker Spaniels, Jack Russel Terriers, Border Collies, Poodles, etc). On the other hand it's not uncommon for anywhere from 25%-50% of our adoptable dogs to be Pit Bulls or mixes thereof.

Pit Bulls were bred to be tough dogs who could physically with stand the damage incurred by fighting other dogs. But they were also bred to be extremely tolerant of human interaction -- with aggression towards humans being bred out of them. Historically Pit Bulls have been highlighted in a positive manner. Sergeant Stubby is the most decorated dog in US military history for his work in WWI. Petey in the Little Rascals movie was a Pit Bull, as was Tige from the Buster Brown advertisements. Helen Keller had a Pit Bull as a pet, and Laura Ingalls Wilder's dog, Jack the brindle Bulldog is believed to have been a Pit Bull.

Pit Bulls are not a breed for everyone. They do have strong powerful jaws and they physically are strong animals. They should be well socialized as puppies, and go through training so that they have good manners. HAWS only places dogs we feel will be safe members of the community -- and that includes Pit Bulls who go through the same behavior evaluation that our other adoptable dogs go through.

Luckily Rascal passed our behavior evaluation. Boys from our Lad Lake program worked with him twice a week to instill some training and help him with his mental exercise. And our wonderful dog walkers made sure that he got out every day, sometimes three times a day, for exercise and attention. We would have preferred that Rascal find a home in less time than five months. However he is a great dog and we're happy we could give him a chance. We wish Rascal and his new family many years of love and happiness.

Sledding in a Winter Wonderland

2009-12-31T15:00:00.007-06:00

One of the best things about this years Winter Camp is that the weather actually cooperated with us. We didn't have to worry about a winter storm threatening to shut us down. It wasn't bitterly cold, and we were able to let the kids play outside for a short period of time. And best of all, there was snow on the ground, and it was just the right kind of snow.

HAWS Executive Director, Lynn Olenik has huskys and as a hobby does sled dogging. Each year she brings her dogs and sled into HAWS at Winter Camp time and talks about the hobby and sport of using dogs to pull a sled. If the weather cooperates and the ground has the right amount and kind of snow she takes the kids on a short ride.

Despite the fact that the ride was extremely short, the kids had a blast -- almost as much fun as the dogs themselves!

As winter camp comes to an end I'll start preparing for summer camp. And while taking a ride in the snow on a sled pulled by dogs in July isn't going to be an option, these past 4 days have given me some new ideas to make our kids programs even better in the future.

Winter Camp is Back!

2009-12-30T14:50:00.007-06:00

In addition to our summer camp, HAWS also runs a Winter Camp during the times kids have off from school between Christmas and New Years. Monday and Tuesday of this week we had 18 kids between the ages of 9 and 12 years of age.

I'm always looking for new activities for the children while they're here at camp. Many of the kids are repeat campers and so I don't want them to get bored. Additionally the number one request from both parents and kids is more time with the animals.

Last week I was reading my November/December 2009 copy of Animal Sheltering Magazine when I came across a very interesting article entitled "Clicking with Shelter Cats" written by clicker training pioneer Karen Pryor who started her career with animals by training dolphins in Hawaii at Sea Life Park in the 1960's (for a fascinating look at her experiences with dolphins read her book "Lads Before the Wind").

The article talked about ways that shelters could use clicker training to make cats more adoptable by teaching them to be more outgoing when potential adopters are in the cat adoption room. A very shy cat who formerly would hide in the back of the cage can be trained to come forward seeking attention through the use of a clicker and some favorite food.

I thought this might be a good activity for our campers, and so I tried it out. The kids were put into teams of two. One held the clicker and a popsicle stick, the other a bowl of tuna with a spoon. When the popsicle stick was put into the cage the cat was clicked for touching it with his nose, and then given a small morsel of food.

This was an extremely successful activity. The cats loved it -- they all came running to the front of their cages once they figured out there was tuna on the line. The kids told me that on a scale of one to ten training cats was a ten, and they all wanted to do it again.

As a dog trainer I am very familiar with the concept of clicker training and use it with dogs all the time. This was my first experience with training cats. We didn't ask them to do anything complicated, but if it made everyone happy it was worth it.

The Best Laid Plans...

2009-12-22T10:28:00.012-06:00

I needed an animal to take to my after-school program at Saratoga Elementary School. It had been a while since I brought a cat there to visit, and so yesterday I found myself in our adoptable cat room looking for a cat to take to school with me.

What I look for in a suitable cat is one that is outgoing, playful, and affectionate. Since I don't often get a chance to spend time with our cats, I rely on the comments our volunteers put on the cage cards, and on how the cats behave as I walk up to the front of their cages. Generally I reject the cats that stay in the back and am more likely to consider the cats that come running up to the door and rub up against it soliciting attention from me. Since this cat will be traveling, going to a new place and meeting lots of kids it has to be a cat that will be able to cope with the stress of that.

One of our adoption counselors saw me looking and suggested I take Grover since he is really affectionate and loves attention. I'm always appreciative of advice in these matters from someone who actually knows the animal. So Grover and I set off for Saratoga School at 3:30 Monday afternoon.

The kids were really excited to see Grover, and once they had settled down and were quiet I opened the crate door. Grover was much less excited to see the kids. He ran off and hid under a cart on wheels. I told the kids we should give him some time to feel more comfortable. As time went on it became apparent Grover wouldn't be feeling comfortable anytime soon.

Poor Grover -- I had to drag him out of his secure hiding place and hold him as the kids petted him. I don't know whether he started to feel more comfortable with the kids, or was just resigned to his fate, but he actually started to relax. And I was able to allow some of the kids to hold him.

No matter how well animals behave in a familiar environment, it's difficult to know how they'll behave when confronted with stress. Grover would have been much happier had he been left behind at HAWS and I had taken another cat. And when he goes to his new home he most likely will need a few days to settle in before he becomes the outgoing socialite our staff has come to know.

Taking an animal to a new place to meet new people isn't the only stressful situation they'll encounter. As we head into the holidays realize that having guests at your house will be just as stressful for many of your pets. Patricia McConnell recently wrote a wonderful post on just this subject on her blog "The Other End of the Leash" and I can highly recommend you read it.

I wish everyone -- human, furry and feathered alike, happy and stress-free holidays!

Winter in Wisconsin

2009-12-11T13:56:00.007-06:00

I had originally thought to write a post about keeping pets inside during the cold Wisconsin weather. But everytime we get a cold snap -- as we are now, the news is full of advisements to bring pets inside. I think most people already know when it's too cold to leave a dog or cat outdoors.

One of HAWS adoption requirements is that the pet must be an indoor pet. Our feeling is that we are adopting our animals out in the hopes that they will become companion animals -- members of the family. If the animal lives outside the humans in the family are less likely to form a strong bond and attachment to the pet. And obviously a pet that lives inside the house is going to spend much more time with their people than one living in the backyard.

I realize that I'm very much an exception in pet ownership -- my dogs share most aspects of my life -- they come to work with me, we hike together, snuggle on the couch as I'm reading or watching a movie on TV. I certainly don't expect that most people will have the strong love and attachment for their pets that I have with my dogs. But I would hope that any pet owner would love their pet enough to enjoy spending time with them on a cold winter day.

Great Horned Owl vs. String

2009-12-04T16:56:00.008-06:00

While most of HAWS work is with domestic animals, on many occasions we do help out the wild animals of Waukesha County as well.

The other day HAWS was called to come and pick up an injured Great Horned Owl. It turned out the poor bird had gotten tangled in string of some kind. The string was wrapped around the birds body and was tight around one of it's wings.

Mark Hess, HAWS Operation's Manager and Wildlife Rehabilitator gently and patiently removed the string. At the end we had a pile of string and a bird with an injured wing.

Since HAWS doesn't do long-term rehabilitation here, the owl was taken to the Wildlife In Need Center in Dousman for medical evaluation. Hopefully his injuries will make it possible for him to heal and be returned to the wild.

Many times when we talk about how humankind impacts wildlife we're referring to loss of habitat through construction and pollution of air and water. But many times something as innocent looking as a piece of string can be harmful to a wild animal that's just going about it's business trying to survive.

To Be or Not to Be

2009-11-25T11:18:00.016-06:00

You're most likely familiar with that quote from Shakespeare's "Hamlet". This is the story of another Hamlet -- and the quote fits perfectly. Hamlet had a rough start in life, and there were many times he almost didn't make it.

HAWS periodically sends staff to the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission to take adoptable dogs for adoption here at HAWS. MADACC is the animal control facilty for Milwaukee County, but doesn't do adoptions. Once a stray's 7 day hold is up -- if they haven't been claimed, other shelters and rescue groups pull animals so that they can have a new chance at life.

In early July, 2006 one of our staff returned with 4 puppies estimated to be 4 or 5 days old. They'd been abandoned in a box at another facility and then taken to MADACC and now were going to be given a chance at life at HAWS -- however a foster home would have to be found for them.

At the same time we had a dog whose 8 week old puppies were ready for adoption. My heart melted at the sight of these helpless puppies no bigger than a guinea pig. And I thought that maybe the mother dog might still have some milk left. So I went home with 4 puppies and an adult female named Janet.

Janet was an excellent mother -- she stayed with the puppies and cleaned them with her tongue. She allowed them to nurse, however her milk had mostly dried up at that point and so I had to bottle feed the puppies. I decided to keep Janet as a surrogate mother. As a dog trainer I know how important a mother dog is to the puppies. They do so much more than provide nutrition -- they are instrumental in their development. Janet and I would have to share mothering duties.

One of the puppies wasn't doing well from the beginning, and I was sad, but not suprised when I found her dead one day. What I wasn't prepared for was that one of the other puppies stopped wanting to take the bottle. In desperation I took him to HAWS and we decided he was so far gone that he should be euthanized. A day later another of the puppies took a turn for the worse and I took him to HAWS as well. This time we tried to give him subcutaneus fluids in which fluids are injected with a syringe under the skin where the body absorbs them. He was still failing even after that, and I was left with no other choice other than to euthanize him as well.

I was devestated by this. I'd taken these puppies home expecting to see them thrive and grow, and now I'd lost all but one. I felt like a failure, and was terrified for the remaining puppy --even though he seemed to be doing well. I didn't want to name him because I didn't know if he'd make it or not.

My next few weeks consisted of sleeping on the couch so that I could hear him crying for his 2am feeding. The puppy and Janet accompanied me back and forth from home to work since the puppy needed to be fed every few hours. He grew bigger and stronger.

While I was fascinated to see first his eyes open, and then his ear canals, I also knew the significance of this developmental milestone. At about 3 weeks -- when the senses are all operational -- the canine critical socialization period begins. The puppy didn't have any littermates to interact with.

This can be a huge problem -- singleton puppies many times lack good bite inhibition since they don't have littermates to play with that can teach them that. They are also more prone to have problems dealing with frustration since they don't have competition from littermates for resources. And many times they don't learn appropriate canine communication.

Besides Janet I had 3 dogs of my own. I carefully introduced the puppy to my own dogs, and much to my suprise Mystic was the most interactive and extremely gentle with him, while the girls really didn't want much to do with him. Mystic turned out to be a fantastic surrogate father.

I also started to introduce him to other adult dogs belonging to HAWS staff if I was sure they would be appropriate to him. Getting him around as many appropriate adult dogs as I could would be the key to resolving some of his singleton puppy issues.

At about 3 weeks of age he had a name -- chosen by Anya -- the daughter of Dr. Wolterman -- the vet at HAWS. His name was Hamlet and I felt comfortable naming him since he was doing so well -- until the terrifying day he wasn't. Suddenly he stopped taking the bottle and became severely dehydrated. We did subcutaneous fluids with him, and I spent a tense day waiting to see if he would improve. He did, and after a day or two was back to his old self.

However, as the weeks went on I saw other signs that concerned me. Physically he was extremely healthy. However he started to show a severe lack of being able to deal with frustration. When confined to an exercise pen he would throw a temper tantrum at being confined by barking, growling and biting at the wires. When Janet would correct him he would become angry and go after her. While we didn't know what breed he was when he was just a few days old, it started to look like he was a pit bull mix. I knew he would be a large dog, and having these problems could make him a very dangerous dog as he grew older. I faced the prospect of euthanizing him if these behaviors continued -- not an easy thing to think about since those 2am feedings and time spent with him had made me very emotionally attached. But rationally -- as much as I loved Hamlet, I knew that I could not adopt him out if he was going to cause someone else heartache down the road.

As a dog trainer I knew what things I could do to try and change him around. I did a lot of restraint exercises -- restraining him in my arms, talking to him gently, and only releasing him when he relaxed. I also restrained him and reinforced him with treats. To teach him to deal with frustration I taught him sit at about 5 weeks of age and made him sit for treats, toys and play. I also made him sit before I would allow him to come out of his crate or out of the exercise pen. I interceded when he was being inappropriate with Janet so that he couldn't practice those behaviors.

To my relief and delight this behavior modification program worked. Hamlet developed into a very nice puppy, and at 8 weeks of age he went up for adoption. It broke my heart to see him confined to a kennel during the day, but that would give him the best chance for adoption, and at night he came home with me.

One day I found a crusty ring on his ear. At the time we had a ringworm outbreak with our cats and he must have picked it up at the shelter. He was removed as an adoptable candidate, and I took him home until the ringworm was gone when he was about 12 weeks old.

In the meantime there were several adopters that were interested in him. I found the greatest home for him -- a couple who had another pitbull they had adopted from HAWS. They melted at the sight of his cute little self, and I was impressed when they told me how much exercise their other dog had, the fact that he slept on their bed, and pretty much was their baby. Hamlet had a new home!

Hamlet's new name is Sam. I've seen him a few times over the years -- he always greets me joyously. I wonder if he remembers me as his caretaker when he was so young, or if he's just excited to see someone who is excited to see him. He's turned into a wonderful adult dog. He's gentle with children, great with other dogs, and doesn't have a mean bone in his body -- which is good since he now weighs a little over 100 pounds.

I saw Sam last week -- his big silly grin greeted me and it made me happy that I'd put in so much time, gone through so many emotions, and did as much work as I did to see him become the wonderful dog he is.

Lad Lake and Rascal

2009-11-16T14:31:00.005-06:00

The boys from Lad Lake are doing wonderfully in our program. All the boys have started to really become good dog handlers and are developing training skills. But even more important -- and a key part to this program, I've seen a lot of growth from all the boys. Kevin is learning how to pay attention, Keanu is gaining confidence, Michael is getting over his disgust over putting treats in the dogs mouth and is better at following directions, Andrew is learning to be a team player, and Mike is developing some skills in coaching the other boys.

We've seen some of the dogs get adopted, however Mike and Michael have had an opportunity to work with one of the dogs for two months now. While that's a good thing for the boys since they've developed a bond for Rascal and have been able to teach him some amazing things, it's not so great for poor Rascal who's left homeless. While he's very handsome, his size and breed (pit bull possibly mixed with American Bulldog) make him a difficult placement

I credit this program for helping to provide Rascal with the mental enrichment he so desperately needs to make his days here good ones. And hopefully the video of Mike working with him that I just posted on his PetFinder posting helps to get him a home. And just how cute is that bow at the end -- the boys are so pleased with it!

New Shelter, New Tours

2009-11-12T08:53:00.007-06:00

No -- I didn't get a job at a different shelter. And the shelter isn't new -- although parts of it are. Our shelter is undergoing a renovation. This huge project started with the addition of 5,400 square feet to our building. We've been watching the building grow since June of this year.

Most of the new addition is up and much of it is ready to be used. Over the weekend we moved the cats into their new space, and our front office staff also moved to a new reception and office area. All of us have had to figure out the new layout.

Yesterday I conducted my first tour since the changes with Cub Scout Pack 5 -- and before they arrived I took my own tour (I had to know where I was going, after all!).

It certainly is exciting to see how beautiful the new space is, and the advantages there will be for our animals. The cats will no longer be able to hear the dogs barking, and will have their own laundry and kitchen areas. Our small animals are moving into a much bigger space - no more cramped quarters! And small dogs will have a room of their own so that they won't feel intimidated by the big dogs.

Right now we're still dealing with the construction as it moves into the existing building and remodeling starts. As I write this I'm listing to saws and pounding. But when it's completed by the time Winter Camp starts it will be well worth it.

Click a Chick

2009-10-30T10:37:00.005-05:00

I'm been back from the Association of Pet Dog Trainers Conference in San Francisco since Monday, and am still reeling from all the great information I gleaned from the various speakers. It was a wonderful conference, and as always I learned a lot about different ways that I can be a better dog trainer.

The highlight of my trip was the opportunity to "Click a Chick". For years animal trainers have attended Terry Ryan's Chicken Camps in which they learned to clicker train chickens. Why chickens? Because they are an animal which most people haven't ever trained before, and so therefore won't come with bad training habits. Because people are less likely to bond with a chicken and give in to their emotions. Chickens are also very fast moving animals -- which requires the trainer to be spot on with their timing. And because the trainers aren't going to be taking the chickens home with them -- so therefore don't have to worry about how their training impacts the chicken as a pet.

While official chicken camps run for 4 days, the APDT version was only for a few hours -- however I really did learn a lot from the experience. I learned to remain still and only move when I was delivering the reinforcement (chicken pellets in a cup) so that the chicken was learning without being prompted and so that I didn't unintentionally create a visual cue. I also started to learn to move a little faster with my timing, and to reinforce more frequently.

I got video -- posted below. My friend Trish McMillan -- a behaviorist from the ASPCA, was my partner.

Sea Lions in San Francisco

2009-10-20T11:48:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I walked on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco and I heard off in the distance what sounded like Sea Lions. Following the noise I ended on at Pier 39 and saw dozens of floating platforms – each of which contained between 3 and 10 sea lions.

Apparently after an earthquake in 1989 they started to appear, found the area to their liking and invited their friends to join them. They are now protected and are a huge tourist draw.

It rained off an on that day, and as we watched the sea lions it started to pour, so we watched them from under an overhang. The sea lions didn’t seem to even notice the precipitation – the older animals lay on their sides and backs as though sunning themselves, and the younger sea lions played – lunging at each other with their mouths open, wrestling and shoving each other into the ocean.

San Francisco SPCA

2009-10-20T11:44:00.003-05:00

I’m away from HAWS for the week, but definitely not away from animals. Each year I travel to a different city to attend the annual Association of Pet Dog Trainers Conference. This year it’s in San Francisco – a city I’ve never visited before.

A lot of shelter employees like to visit shelters in other areas out of curiosity to see what others in the sheltering world are doing. The San Francisco SPCA is fairly well known for having a state of the art, beautiful facility – with housing for the animals that is just as nice as the Marriot where I’m staying this week. I was interested to see if they actually lived up to all the hype.

I honestly have never seen such a gorgeous place for dogs and cats. The animals don’t stay in caging, but in rooms with glass windows and doors – honestly they were really more like suites. Most of the dogs and cats shared space with another of the same species, but they had so much space they really didn’t seem to mind. The dog rooms were about 8 by 8 feet, and the cat rooms only a little smaller. Most of the rooms were decorated with wall hangings, and had several beds. Some of the rooms even had TV!

Here’s a video of a cat watching a squirrel DVD.

Anoles

2009-10-12T10:19:00.004-05:00

"Did you see the Anoles?" I was asked the other day.

Considering it was around lunchtime, and that here at HAWS there very often is food sitting in our break room, I can't be faulted for the logical conclusion I made. I'd never had anoles before, but I assumed they were some kind of yummy baked goods.

Alas for my sweet tooth, it turns out that anoles are a kind of lizard, and they'd been surrendered to HAWS earlier that day.

One of the most interesting things about working at an animal shelter is the diversity of types of animals that we work with here. While I love dogs, I also love to learn about other kinds of animals as well.

Anoles are native to Florida, Cuba, Jamaica and other Caribbean Islands. They are pretty small compared to many other reptiles kept as pets; a full grown Anole will only reach about 8 inches from head to tail. From what I've read they seem to be a high maintenance pet -- requiring hot, humid conditions mimicking their natural habitat in the rain forest, a steady diet of meal worms and crickets, and are easily stressed causing illness. Veterinarypartner.com has basic information on them.

While it's interesting learning about different animals, I already know that Anoles are not the pet for me -- I'll stick with my dogs. And now I'm off to see what might be sitting on the break room table...

How to Raise a Puppy

2009-10-04T22:48:00.014-05:00

Although the majority of my blog posts are about the programs I do with children, I actually do work quite a bit with adults. While I truly enjoy spending time with kids and being able to pass along my knowledge and passion for animals, I also love that I get an opportunity to make a difference with grown-ups. And lets face it -- when you spend a lot of time with kids it's sometimes refreshing to be able to relate to someone in your own age range (although it goes the opposite way sometimes as well!)

Working at an animal shelter we see many cases where an owner gives up on a pet because they cannot understand why the animal won't conform to their expectations. In some cases their expectations may be unreasonable. In other cases it may just be a matter of showing the owner how to train their pet so that they fit into the household better.

Some of the programs I present involve education for dog owners. While I love animals in general and know quite a bit about many pet species, my background is in dog training and behavior. As a Certified Pet Dog Trainer it gives me a great deal of pleasure to be able to help dog owners understand the canine members of their family and find ways to make it easier to live with them. Let's face it -- we are two different species and what each species finds "normal" can be two very different things.

Today it was my pleasure to be able to run my "How to Raise a Puppy And Keep Your Sanity" workshop. 9 puppies, 3 kids, and 10 adults all came together for an hour and a half to try and learn a little bit about each other. We talked about socialization, housetraining, nipping, chewing, and toys.

The most fun was allowing the puppies to play off leash. It was actually more than fun -- it was an opportunity for the pups to play with each other in a safe environment, and learn how to interact appropriately with members of their own species.

The hour and a half went way too quickly -- there was so much more information I would have liked to have shared with the new owners if I would have had the time. But hopefully I gave them enough information to get a good start, and many of them intend to sign up for the puppy socialization classes HAWS offers -- which will give them an even better opportunity to create well mannered, well adjusted dogs living in their homes.

HAWS and Lad Lake

2009-09-25T13:58:00.007-05:00

I mentioned in a previous post that I was doing a program with Lad Lake -- a non-profit organization that provides services for at-risk kids.

Other shelters have worked with at-risk kids having them do dog training at their facility. Positive reinforcement training animals can teach the trainers patience, good communication skills and instill empathy. That makes dog training the perfect activity to do with kids who may need help in these areas.

This semester I'm working with 5 boys who range in age from 12 to 18 years. So far I have enjoyed working with them immensely. They are polite, follow directions well, and really seem to be enjoying the experience.

In addition to the dog training, I am also doing a 15 to 20 minute presentation each time they visit on a dog related topic. While I know much of this information already, it's been fun researching the material and putting together the slide presentations. My hope is that the boys will understand that learning can be fun and that it can be applied to something they're doing in the real world.

The top photo is of Michael with one of our adoptable 8 week-old Lab mix puppies. And to the right is Mike training 1-year old easily excited Mia to sit and calm down.

Whatever Happened to Little Albert?

2009-09-18T15:52:00.012-05:00

I'm doing a semester-long project with a group of boys from Lad Lake -- a non-profit organization that provides services to at-risk youth. Twice a week five boys from their Day Education Program come to HAWS to learn about dog behavior, training and other topics and actually do some hands on work with our adoptable dogs.

Part of the program involves a 15 or 20 minute presentation - a different topic each visit. Currently I'm working on a presentation on Classical Conditioning. Classical Conditioning involves a stimulus of an involuntary behavior with an stimulus that wouldn't normally cause that involuntary behavior. An example would be if a dog is terrified of loud noises. Initially he's afraid during storms when he hears thunder, but after a while becomes afraid when he sees lightning, because lightning predicts thunder.

While surfing the web and doing my research I came across the story of "Little Albert". If you took Psychology 101 you might remember this experiment done by John B. Watson in 1920. Watson wanted to show that humans are a product of their environment, NOT of their genetics.

It truly was a horrible experiment -- and it shows how little scientists back then cared for their subjects, and how poor ethical standards were at the time. His experiment consisted of exposing a 9 month old child named Albert to a variety of animals, towards which the child was not fearful. Watson then exposed the child to a white rat, and paired it with a loud clanging noise. Albert WAS afraid of the noise. After a while Albert became afraid of the rat, even when the noise wasn't present. Furthermore, he generalized it to ALL furry animals.

Unfortunately for Albert, he was removed from the study before Watson could attempt reverse his fear by counter-conditioning. There isn't any record of Albert after this, so for all we know the poor guy spent the rest of his life terrified of animals. Fortunately we've come a long way since 1920 -- scientists would never be allowed to perform an experiment such as this on a child today.

I was aware of this experiment before today. What I didn't know, was that Watson filmed it and it can actually be seen on YouTube.

Help Me Take the Duck Out!

2009-09-10T10:26:00.007-05:00

Not something that the average person hears at work, and not really common here around HAWS either. But when you work at a place where you take in animals of all kinds, it is likelier than if you work in an office building!

This unnamed duck was picked up as a stray. After being kept in isolation to see if she (he?) would be claimed he was finally given a reprieve and allowed to enjoy some time outside in sun soaking in a pool.

And yes, I did help take the duck out.

Pet Myths: Older Dogs Can't be Trained

2009-09-04T15:57:00.008-05:00

Running the dog training program we hold here at HAWS, I have a lot of opportunities to talk to dog owners interested in having their dogs learn better manners. One question I get asked on occasion is, "He's already (5 year, 7 years, 9 years, etc), is it too late to train him". I always assure the owner that indeed their dog is not.

I've written quite a bit about Mystic who accompanies me on many of my HAWS education outings. My other dog is 13 year old Belle, a border collie mix -- possibly with Papillion, that I've had since she was about 8 months old. I don't use her for education programs because she gets over-whelmed with large numbers of kids trying to interact with her.

Despite the fact that she's lost some of her hearing, at 13 years of age Belle is still very agile, and her mind is still as sharp as ever.

Yesterday I held a program here at HAWS with a group of teenage boys. We were talking about dog training, and I announced that I would be bringing Mystic out to do a training demonstration. The boys asked for Belle instead, because they felt sorry for the poor dog that was whining to come out.

So I brought Belle out and did some clicker training with her. She was EXTREMELY pleased to be working, and was so focused on me I don't think she even noticed there were 6 adolescent kids in the room.

Clicker training involves no direction from the trainer, other than a click and a treat when the dog does something the trainer likes. It uses a process called shaping, in that the trainer clicks each small step that leads the dog towards the final desired behavior.

In Belle's case my intention was to train her to lie down with her head on the floor and a paw over her nose - it's something I see her do on occasion. First I was clicking her any time she lay down. Intially she was trying all the previous tricks she had been taught -- sit up, roll-over, crawl, and wave. After she was clicked several times for down it became her most offered behavior.

I then had to get her to rest her head on the floor. She was staring at me so that her head was directed upwards. I clicked anytime she lowered her head a bit, and made sure that the treat was delivered close to the floor.

It took 10 minutes, but finally she was laying down and resting her head on the floor. The next step would be to get that paw to cover her nose, but we ended it there. A good trainer trains a new behavior only a few minutes at a time because dogs actually learn faster that way. And you always end on a good note. I'm not always good at following those rules, but I wanted to make a good impression on the boys.

It was wonderful to see my senior dog have so much enthusiasm for learning after all these years. Both of us had a wonderful time, and I hope the boys learned something about older animals (people included) having value, and being capable of learning.

Famous Daves Refuses to Serve Sheep

2009-08-27T14:51:00.006-05:00

One of the most interesting things about working at HAWS is sometimes I never know what I'll find in our animal cages here.

A few days ago our staff were called out to Famous Dave's restaurant in Waukesha to pick up a stray animal. Usually the animals our staff handle are things like dogs, cats, rabbits, an occasional ferret or sometimes even a bird. Occasionally they come across a more unusual species.

Our staff knows animals, and they weren't going to have the wool pulled over their eyes this time -- they know the difference between a dog and a sheep! We don't know how she got there -- that part of Waukesha is anything but rural. But ewe can bet she wasn't there to sample the ribs!

Baaaah-bara is currently residing in a dog kennel here at HAWS while we do the 7-day stray hold. If not claimed she'll be turned over to greener pastures, where she can live out her life in a flock of other sheep blissfully grazing to her hearts desire.

Camp is Over, But Not Forgotten

2009-08-21T17:38:00.004-05:00

Camp ended a week ago, and I'd like to be able to say that the activity room is a lot quieter, but that's just not true! HAWS has been under construction since early June -- most of the work has been on the front of the building, but with the addition of new space we are required to put in a new sprinkler system. We've exchanged the sound of kids laughing and yelling with the sound of sawing and pounding.

You might think that now that camp is over I've put it behind me until I need to start planning for the summer of 2010. Actually -- I've already started to plan for 2010! One of the things I did this year was to put together a survey for the parents to fill out. Overall we got some very positive feedback, such as the following:

- My daughter is already planning on attending next year and her younger brother will be old enough, so it is on his calendar as well!
- my daughter loves it. She is a budding vet (or something) and has a great time at camp always!!
- My niece was in town and would have loved to do camp. She is interested in starting a similar camp at their humane society in Virginia.
- My daughter had a really fun time at the camp. I wish I hadn't waited to sign her up so she could have gotten into both weeks. Thanks so much for offering this camp. I will make sure I look into registering earlier.
- very very fun
- my daughter loves animals and she had so much fun - she wants to go back the rest of the week. I wish we had signed up for one of the 5 day camps.
- My daughter loved it. Not one complaint.

Not all the survery results were positive. Some of the parents requested more time with the animals and (suprisingly) more volunteer work cleaning cages. One parent complained about the 1/2 an hour after lunch that we have the kids watch animal related movies (most educational), one said we should have a movie with popcorn, and one requested better movies. One child complained about the outdoor games we play, and one stated he would like more outdoor playtime.

Truly we are not going to be able to please every child and every parent -- but were certainly can (and will) try. One of the comments from a parent was that her son told her that if he was bored or didn't like an activity there was a new one starting within a half an hour so it wasn't so bad. So that tells me that we're on the right track.

The survey results are very important to me. While it's a bit demoralizing to hear that our camp program isn't 100% fantastic, it also gives me very important information on how next year's camp can be better.

And the building addition will be a big factor in making that happen. We will have an additional meeting room so that we can have more children attending camp, but fewer in the same room; and more nooks and crannies. We can have smaller groups of kids interacting with an animal at a time - a better experience for both the children and the animal. And we will definately put more animal interaction into our schedule (currently they interact with animals between 5 and 6 times a day for 15 minutes to 1/2 an hour at a time).

If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

Campers Training Shelter Dogs

2009-08-14T16:09:00.008-05:00

One of the camp activities that the older kids enjoy doing is dog training. We put the kids into groups of three, and each group is given a dog to train. Many of the dogs haven't ever learned anything from their previous owners, and many are a challange to work with.

The kids enjoy being able to spend time with a shelter dog, but they also learn that training a dog can be much more difficult than it looks. Some of the dogs truly want to figure out what the kids want, but just can't figure it out. It's a typical case of inter-species failure to communicate.

We don't tell the kids what they have to teach the dogs -- this is camp after all and it's meant to be fun. But we do show them how to teach whatever interests them, and sometimes make suggestions.

This summer HAWS adoptable dogs learned how to sit and lay down (and some learned to calm down in the presence of kids -- an invaluable lesson!), spin, shake, rollover, go through a hula hoop, crawl beneath chairs, and just look so cute that the kids had to give them free treats.

Field Trips

2009-08-07T19:38:00.007-05:00

One of the experiences we provide for the kids attending our 5-day camps is the opportunity to go on a field trip and experience animals that they wouldn't encounter at HAWS.

While Wisconsin is known as "The Dairy State", many city and suburban kids haven't ever had a chance to visit a dairy farm. Earlier this summer we visited the Cozy Nook Farm in Waukesha and the kids were able to meet some of the bovine providers of the milk they drink, and the cheese, yogurt and ice-cream they eat. The kids learned what hard work farming is, let calves suckle their fingers, fed hay to some of the cows, and got a hay ride.

Another group of campers went to visit Waterville Farm and learned about caring for horses, got to meet some mares and their foals, and were able to pet some beautiful show horses. They learned about tack and grooming, and each camper was able to brush a horse.

Last weeks group of campers were able to have more of a hand-on experience at Knollwood Farm in Hartland. The kids groomed the horses, put on tack and got a riding lesson. They learned that caring for horses is hard work, and doesn't always smell very nice. But every one said that it was one of their favorite parts of camp.

My Guest Bloggers

2009-07-31T16:08:00.014-05:00

This week I decided to take the easy way out and let some of the kids from camp do my blogging for me. Some chose to write something, and some chose to draw. These bloggers are between 9 and 12 years of age. I hope you enjoy it!

Alyssa S.

HAWS by Raven S.
Kittens and puppies may look cute, but have you ever thought about what happens to older dogs and cats? HAWS works extra hard to put older animals in homes. They have tried to lower prices on older animal. They also bring them into camps to show the volunteers that come here for camp. Reach out and help an older animal out. How would you like to live your whole life in a cage? Adopt an older dog today!!

HAWS Rocks!!

Carly B.

A Great Place by Mary Kate A.
HAWS is supportive in so many ways -- that's why you should be supportive by adopting a pet at HAWS. This awesome place has dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, lizards, birds and more.

I'm going to talk about animals that you might want to adopt here at HAWS. First pets are Lily and Norm. Lily is two and Norm is eight. These pets want to be adopted together because they were from the same home. these pets will change your life. Lilly and Norm will be your best friends. Lily is a beagle and Norm is a terrier mix.

Next is Flower. Flower is a kitten with a bundle of energy. Flower loves to play and cuddle with you. Flower is for someone who needs to be happy. Flower is a shooting star. Flower is not even one yet.

Next is Boss. Boss isn't even one yet either. Boss is a pitbull, but don't worry, Boss won't hurt you if you take care of him the right way. Boss is a crazy pup.

Finally Tonka. Tonka is a St. Bernard. A gentle giant. Tonka is awesome, he can be for any one. Even you. Go to HAWS and look for your special pet. If it's not there today, go tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. You'll end up finding your dream pet.

Sam B.

Iris
I am not a cat person, but when I saw Gable I knew I wanted him. He is the cutest kitten. When I saw him I thought he was full grown, but no, he is only 5 months old. Me and my friend were both looking at kittens. We saw a 3 month old and said, "oh, she is so little". Then I looked up and saw Gable. then my friend's mom said "that cat is only 5 months old". We were both amazed that cats grow that fast.

I walked out and saw Lilly and Norm. They are the cutest buddy pair I have ever seen. Lilly is a 2 year old Beagle, and Norm is an 8 year old terrier mix. I looked at the next cage over and saw Patch. She is a super cute tan and white pit bull. I got her to sit and lay down. I know Patch is the dog for me or you!

Lauren

HAWS by Kirstin E.
HAWS stands for Humane Animal Welfare Society. HAWS rocks. HAWS adopts out dogs, cats, bunny rabbits, birds, iguanas, ferrets and has visitation rooms. Plus they have their own mascot, his name is Mystic.

We love HAWS.

Kaelyn

Jenny V.

Volunteering at Camp

2009-07-24T16:06:00.008-05:00

Our week-long Kid's N Critters Day Camps include doing volunteer work around HAWS. The kids clean cages, stuff food into Kongs for the dogs to work on, sort newspapers, and the older kids do some dog training.

When I first proposed adding volunteer work as part of our camp cirriculum I was told that it would be hard to get the kids to want to do it. However, I knew that part of what we want kids to get out of our education program is the realization that while pets are a lot of fun, they are also a lot of work. What better way to get that point across than to have the kids actually get a taste of it?

I think many of the parents would be amazed to find out that most of the kids actually enjoy the volunteer work that we have the kids do -- including the litterbox scooping, and rabbit cage cleaning. And I'm very sure that many of these same kids balk at having to clean up after their own pets at home.

Hopefully the message that caring for animals is a responsibility is getting through to the kids as they attend camp. And maybe getting a taste of volunteer work now will create a desire to be official HAWS volunteers when they are old enough.

Growing Up

2009-07-20T15:37:00.007-05:00

One of the most rewarding things about having worked at HAWS for 5 years and running a day camp for that length of time is seeing the kids come back every year. It always amazes me not only how much they've grown physically, but how much more mature they are from year to year.

A few years ago one of our campers expressed disappointment that she would soon be too old to attend camp. Kat had always been one of the kids who showed a great amount of enthusiasm for animals and always enjoyed the activities -- she was a lot of fun to be around, and one of the kids I always looked forward to seeing every year. I assured her that when she was too old to come to camp that she would be old enough to be a volunteer counselor.

Sure enough, Kat is back this year, not as a camper, but as a counselor in training. She's jumped in with both feet -- taking on the responsibility of supervising the kids, running activities, and even doing the work that isn't a lot of fun such as cleaning up and taking the garbage out. I've promised Kat that when she is 16 next year I will hire her.

I'm gratified that our summer program is making an impact on how the kids who attend view and care for animals, and that they want to be a part of HAWS. I already have my eye on a number of 9 year olds to be counselors in training the summer of 2015.

Kid's and Cameras

2009-07-13T18:14:00.008-05:00

Several years ago HAWS Education Department was given a small grant by the New Berlin Jounior Women's Club to purchase a digital video camera. Our request to them indicated that we planned on using it as an education tool for our summer camp -- and primarily that's what we've been doing with it.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was always looking for new activities for the kids who attended camp so that they wouldn't get bored. Initially we just had the kids make public service announcments about a topic that they had learned at camp. But a few years ago PetFinder.com -- an on-line website that posts animals available for adoption for rescues and shelters, made it possible to post video of adoptable animals. This is of huge benefit, because video many times shows the personality of an animal in a way that a written description or photograph can't.

We started this activity with last year's summer camp -- with several sessions of the older kids. Not only did the kids really enjoy making the videos, it made them feel as though they were helping the shelter and the animals we have here, and even more importantly several of the videos were directly responsible for adoptions!

This year we've already had one session make videos of some of HAWS adoptables. I'm embedding one of them, but you can access the rest on our PhotoBucket account.

I've chosen the video of Tubby -- not because it's better than the others, but because Tubby in in huge need of exposure. A 9-year old lab mix, Tubby has been at the shelter for many months without much interest. If you know anyone who could be Tubby's new people send them to HAWS!

Great Press!

2009-07-07T15:29:00.002-05:00

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal did a really wonderful story on our Kid's N Critters Day Camp that ran in the Waukesha edition of the Sunday paper! Thanks to reporter Mike Johnson for taking the time to come out and see for himself what goes on at our camp and interview both myself and some of the kids.