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. 

Crowing about Kids 'N Critters Day Camp

He was supposed to be a girl named Ramona.  He ended up being a boy and was renamed Ray.  Because he was being picked on by all the other chickens, Ray the Rooster ended up being surrendered to HAWS.

Luckily for our campers this week Ray is friendly and personable, and gave the kids a great opportunity to learn about chickens, how they are cared for, and what kind of pets they make.  Camp counselor Brittany Tubbs has chickens and did a great job talking to the kids.  I learned that chickens eat a small amount of sand and pebble and that helps grind up their food in their digestive system.

Ray taught the kids why it isn't a good idea to keep roosters in urban areas, as he repeatedly crowed throughout the presentation. 

Kids Who Care

Earlier this summer the Pewaukee Park and Rec Department asked me to come and talk to kids who were participating in their summer program.  The kids wanted to learn what HAWS was all about because they were working on a project to benefit our organization.

At the time of the first visit the kids didn't know what they would do to help us since they were still in the planning stages of the project.   They were amazed to hear that we take in 6,000 animals a year and that in addition to dogs and cats we also take in a whole variety of different animals that people keep as pets.  The kids asked great questions, Mystic entertained them with a few tricks, and as I left the Rec staff promised to keep me informed of the outcome of their project.

Last week Mystic and I were invited to return, hear about the project, and accept the money that the kids had collected.  The kids were simply amazing.  They decided to do a car wash, and the day of the car wash turned out to be one of the hottest days of the summer -- hovering around 100F.  The charge per car was $5.00, although many of the customers gave extra, and some people even donated money without getting their car washed.  The kids were ecstatic that their hard work paid off and they were able to collect $320.40 and in addition a box of items HAWS has listed on our wish list. 

Each of the kids also decided to sponsor a HAWS animal and made up a card with the animal's name and photograph on it.  They were very proud of their animals, and by the time I visited many of those animals had been adopted -- a fact that made the kids very happy.

Thanks to the kids of Pewaukee Park and Rec.  HAWS truly appreciates your support of the work that we do here, and the consideration you have for animals in need.

Baby Iguanas

HAWS currently has two of these cute little guys.  They were  brought in a couple of weeks ago by someone who had won them at at County Fair and decided they really weren't the kind of pets he wanted to keep.  That was a good decision.

As cute as these guys are, they really can be problematic as pets.  After all, who would believe that something so cute and so small could possibly grow to be  or 56 feet long and weigh 18 pounds?  

This is the first time I've ever seen a baby Iguana.  Usually HAWS gets them surrendered when they reach about two to three feet long.   This is when they start to require a much bigger cage than most people are able to provide. 

One of the things that appalled us at HAWS was the fact that these guys were given away as prizes.  Pets are meant to be members of a family and require knowledge of their care, and are a daily responsibility.  Because of this, those of us in the animal welfare field feel that getting a pet should take careful consideration and research before bringing the animal into the home. 

Handing out live animals as though they were fabric covered toys stuffed with sawdust is just reprehensible.   Getting a pet this way doesn't allow for the family to know what they are getting themselves into or prepare for their new arrival, much less make an informed decision.

It is also most likely inhumane for the animals being given out, since who knows how long they are carried around fairgrounds before their new owners decide it's time to go home.  And people who don't know much about how to care for their new pet may end up providing inappropriate or even dangerous housing for the animal, and feeding them something that might be unhealthy or even cause medical problems. 

I commend the man who brought these two little guys in and gave them to HAWS.  He was smart enough to realize that he wouldn't be able to provide the home they needed, and brought them to a place where they could obtain the proper care.  Hopefully we'll be able to find them a good home.  Does anyone want a six foot long reptile that will need an enclosure the size of a walk-in closet?  Do your research and then come to HAWS if you decide the answer is yes -- we have two to choose from.

Kids 'N Critters in the News

Laura Langemo from Fox 6 News in Milwaukee was kind enough to feature HAWS Kids 'N Critters Camps in the interview portion of the Fox 6 WakeUp yesterday morning.  We knew she was coming and that the segments would all air between 7:15 and 8:45am, which is before the 9am start time of camp.  Because she was going to profile our Camp Gone to the Dogs kids, I e-mailed the parents requesting that if possible they bring their kids to HAWS at 7:30am.  I figured that we'd maybe get 4 or 5 kids from that request.  To my surprise all 16 kids were able to attend! 

The whole morning was wonderful.  The first segment was of HAWS Public Relations extraordinaire -  Jennifer Smieja talking about the history of HAWS camps going back to the 80's.  The kids had their dogs to work with and during my interview they did some training in the background, and the camera man even walked around and got shots of the kids training their dogs.  Laura was kind enough to make the third segment about the kids -- she walked around and talked to the kids and the campers showed a trick that they were working on with their dog.  It made me pretty proud to hear one of the campers talk about "putting the trick on cue". 

The last segment was an interview with me while I talked about the final activity of camp, which is Mystic's performance.  My interview was followed by showing off Mystic's "kid agility" course using the kids.  Laura even got into the act by standing in as two of the weave poles.  The video of that last segment is embedded below. 

I'm very proud of HAWS camps, and it's wonderful to get the word out about what we're doing here.  And I'm very grateful to Jennifer Smieja for working so hard to promote HAWS, and especially for helping to promote our education programs.  I'm also grateful that Laura Langemo saw this as a really great addition to Fox 6 WakeUp and was willing to profile us. 

All 4 of the segments can be seen the Fox 6 website. 

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.  

Summer Camp has Begun!

The end of the school year means a change in my job duties -- namely the beginning of HAWS Kids N Critters Day Camp.  This week we will have 73 kids coming to our camp during three sessions.  Two of the sessions are for 2 days each, Tuesday/Wednesday and also Thursday/Friday.  Typically kids attend those sessions if they aren't sure they'd enjoy our camp, or if they have other activities planned during the week.

We also have a 5 day camp that started on Monday.  The kids have had a chance to walk dogs, play with cats and rabbits, meet Voodoo the snake and do a lot of fun activities. 

One of the activities that all of the campers attending our week-long session are required to do is a little bit of volunteer work.  They spend a half an hour during the week cleaning out a few of the cat cages -- helping to scoop the litter pan, wipe down surfaces, take bedding to the laundry, and provide fresh food and water. 

Suprisingly, many of the kids are eager to help out -- something their parents would be amazed to hear since many of these same kids are reluctant to clean at home.  Some of the kids are disgusted at having to scoop poop, or wipe down messy resting places. 

One of our goals for campers is to show them that having a pet may be very rewarding and a lot of fun, but it's also a lot of work, and sometimes is a bit disgusting.

We still have openings for some of the sessions this summer, if you'd like your child to experience fun with animals, while at the same time discovering their responsibility.   Check the HAWS Kids N Critters page for availability.