Visiting Llamas

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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?