Our Children's Education Programme
June 16, 2020
The children of today are the Dogstars of tomorrow.
In order to create the best long term welfare for the animals we treat, we need to be looking to the future. And in a country where rabies is endemic and dog bites and/or the fear of dog bites can be triggers for dog culls, it’s never been more important to teach children about interacting with animals safely.
Back in 2012, Dogstar worked with UK based artist Claire Pitt “The Doodologist”. Together, we created a children's educational programme and colouring book: Be kind, be safe, be a Dogstar.
The aim? To teach children how to interact safely and kindly with animals, and how to promote animal welfare and responsible ownership.
Featuring interactive sessions, we tackle everything from positive handling to bite prevention and what to do if bitten. At the end of each session, a child signs a pledge to ‘Be A Dogstar’ - that is, to look after animals, be kind, be safe and if they are bitten to tell an adult and seek medical help.
Thousands of children reached...
From presenting to just 100 children in March 2012, our programme has now reached thousands of young people. We were even commissioned by the local Medical Officer of Health who asked that we deliver the Dogstar Education Programme to 2000 children at 6 local schools in the Rambukkana area of Sri Lanka.
