HAWS Summer Kids 'N Critters Camp ended at the end of last week.  The building is certainly much quieter for the first time in 11 weeks.

The feedback from the parents and kids overall was extremely positive.  I've heard so many parents tell me what a great time their kids had -- even that out of all the activities the kids did over the summer, coming to HAWS was their favorite.  A lot of the kids are already planning on attending our camps next year. 

I went through some of the many (literally thousands) of photographs that my staff and I took throughout the summer to document what the kids did while they were here.  One of the things that struck me is how many different types of animals the kids were able to meet and learn about during their camp sessions. 

HAWS is a little unique in animal sheltering in that we will accept just about any kind of animal.  Many shelters handle only dogs and cats because they aren't set up to be able to accomodate the needs of other types of animals such as rabbits, pocket pets, birds and reptiles. 

While it's unfortunate that there is a great need for a place for all types of animals to go when their owners can no longer or aren't willing to care for them any more, the fact that HAWS does take in all different types allows us to use them as a learning opportunity in our education programs. 

Many times this means that we have to educate ourselves before we can pass this knowledge on to the kids.  Over the years I've learned about a lot of different species, but the Red Tail Boa we accepted a few weeks ago was a new one on me.  This one is only about 4 feet long, but full grown can end up to be about 10 feet long, and will weigh about 50lbs. 

Additionally the kids learn that all animals are not the same.  Different species need different care, require different habitats, display different behaviors, and require different handling.  Our campers learn about all these differences and get to see some of them first hand here at HAWS when they interact with the animals. 

Kids Training Dogs in the Kennel

One of the challanges I face with camp each year is trying to find new activities for the kids.  As much as we get very positive  feedback from the parents on our surveys, one of the things that comes up is a request for new things for the kids to do.  This request in itself is actually a compliment, because it tells me that kids enjoy coming to our camps so much they are repeat campers. 

One of the new activities this year for the campers ages 10 and up is training dogs in the kennel.  A problem that just about every animal shelter encounters is dogs who behave poorly when people walk past their kennels.  First impressions are very important, and a dog who is barking and jumping at their kennel door as people walk down the aisle are much less likely to have potential adopters ask to see them.  Sometimes these are extremely nice dogs who are calm in other contexts, but have developed bad habits. 

The training itself is very easy.  The kids walk up and down the kennels and ask a dog to sit -- the kids are instructed on what the visual cue for this behavior looks like.  If the dog sits, the camper throws a treat in the kennel and moves on to the next dog.  Additionally, the kids are told that if a dog doesn't want to approach the kennel door they should toss a treat in without asking for sit because this is most likely a shy dog who needs to learn that people approaching the kennel door aren't scary.

As simple as this exercise is the kids seem to really enjoy it and it gives them a way to help HAWS and the adoptable dogs in our care.  And as you can see in the video below, the dogs really love this activity as well.  

Critter Club Again

Critter Club runs during the school year, and as we head into summer the club ends it's current session.  One of the projects the kids undertook was shooting a music video.  The project was inspired by a music video produced by the SPCA of Wake County in Raleigh, NC to the song by ABBA "Take a Chance on Me".   The Critter Club members saw that video, were enthusiastic about putting together their own and set about deciding on music and putting together choreography. 

After an entire meeting of listening to a variety of songs, the kids finally chose "Say Hey" by Michael Franti and Spearhead.  We all liked the idea that the song was about unconditional love -- something that fits in really well when we think about our pets. 

The video may not be professional quality, but the kids worked really hard at making it into something they could be proud of, and we rehearsed several evenings before we shot the final product. 

Another recent highlight of the Critter Club year was a few weeks ago when one of our employees. Jessica, allowed the kids to spend a bit of time with some 2 week old kittens she was fostering.   This is the time of year when we start to get them in, and many times they're too young to be away from the mother cat.  We greatly rely on foster homes that can hand raise them -- including bottle feeding every few hours and making sure they are pottied (very young kittes and puppies need to be stimulated by their mothers in order to produce urine and feces). 

Jessica was kind enough to show the kids how to feed and potty them, and then let the kids take over.  The kids were amazed by how small and dependent the kittens were, and really enjoyed caring for them. 

Listening Goes Both Ways

When I first started out in humane education I always worried about what kind of a lesson or activity I could prepare for the groups of kids I interacted with. My assumption was that what I presented to the kids was the most important part of my visit since they'd be learning something about the treatment of animals.

I've since come to realize that the lesson is only one part of what the kids get out of my visits. Most of my visits include an animal guest. I usually do the activity with the kids first since once the animal is out they really don't have any interest in interacting with me -- and who can blame them!

Once the animal comes out I stop talking as much and the kids take that opportunity to talk to me. I hear about animals they have at home, and animals they've met at the homes of relatives. Some kids have stories about wild animals they've encountered -- some they've rescued by bringing to HAWS. Occasionally I'll hear stories about animal abuse the kids have witnessed -- either by other kids, or worse, from adults in their lives.

I've come to realize that listening on my end is just as important as wanting the kids to listen to me. Kids are desperate to be heard and be made to feel that their thoughts and comments are important. Expressing their experiences and feelings are an important part of the learning process, and making them feel as though their conversation about animals is being heard will have a huge impact on how they regard animals in the future.

The Buddy System

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.

Kids Say the Funniest Things

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!"

Winter Camp is Here Again

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.

Kids Can Make a Difference!

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.

Camp Gone to the Dogs!

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.

Kids in a Shark Tank

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!

Field Trips

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.

Mystic and the Campers

Because Mystic comes to work with me, and because my office is right off of the room where camp is held, the children attending camp have dubbed him the "Camp Mascot".

It's not unusual for me to have to shoo children away from the baby gate across my office door in order for me to get in and out of my office. Mystic really knows how to play his adoring fans. At the first sound of a childish sing song voice calling out "Myyyyystic!" he comes strolling out of his crate and acknowledges the kids with a sniff, before turning sideways and leaning against the gate so as to make it more convenient for them to pet the entire length of his back. And with 3 or 4 kids squeezed into my office doorway there's plenty of hands to give him a nice massage.

Many of the kids have attended camp in previous years, and so they know that Mystic knows many tricks and that I usually show them off before the end of the camp session. Word spreads to the newcomers, and all week long I get asked when they'll get to see Mystic do his tricks.

Yesterday I was appalled when guest speaker Ginny Marchel, who is a HAWS dog trainer, brought in her American Eskimo Seika and showed off all of her tricks. Seika not only knew all the tricks Mystic knows, but she knew a few more. How could I follow that act?

One of the things Mystic does do, that Seika does not, is Agility. In the past I've used the kids as obstacles -- they've made jumps out of their arms, weave poles out of their legs, and tunnels as a group. Mystic has gone through kid made obstacles one at a time, and at Winter Camp we paired kid weave poles with a kid tunnel. But I decided to try to expand on it.

In the video you'll see 3 jumps, a set of 6 weave poles and a tunnel. Mystic had a beautiful run this afternoon!

Kids INC

A few weeks ago I received a call from Jason Husslein from the Menomonee Falls, WI Community Education and Recreation department. Menomonee Falls has a before and after school program for children in kindergarten through 5th grades called Kids Inc. Two of the schools, Ben Franklin Elementary and Riverside Elementary had chosen HAWS as their community service project.

The kids collected items that HAWS has on our Wish List and Jason asked me to come and talk to them and take the items back with me to HAWS. The photo is of the kids from Ben Franklin Elementary with a sign they made for me, and HAWS adoptable dogs Wayne and Winnie. (Wayne has since found a home!)

I was simply amazed by how much the kids were able to collect -- as you can see in the photo below it almost completely filled the back of my Subaru Forester!

I can attest to the fact that overall todays children aren't as selfish as many people think. I get calls all the time from scout troops, schools and church groups and parents who tell me their kids would like to help HAWS out in some way.

Children have sold lemonaide and donated the proceeds, collected items from our wish list, asked that donations for HAWS be purchased in lieu of birthday gifts, and come to HAWS to donate their time. It gives me tremendous hope for future generations!