Vass-Lakeview Elementary Celebrates Its Pet Responsibility Program Graduates!
Excitement was in the air on Friday, November 14th, as the fourth graders at Vass-Lakeview Elementary School gathered for a PRC Assembly to celebrate what they had learned during their 6 session Pet Responsibility program. The Pet Responsibility Committee (PRC) team that presented the program was led by volunteer Sherri Grantham who has lead PRC teams at the school for the past 16 years!
During the program, the students learned about the “sad problem” in Moore County: too many abandoned, neglected pets ending up at the Moore County shelter and not enough adoptive homes for all of them. They learned that the best way to control animal overpopulation is by spaying & neutering our pets. They learned how to take good care of their pets and to make good choices when selecting a pet.
During the Assembly they were visited by Speuter (PRC volunteer Ann Rothe), the PRC kitty mascot. Speuter read a poem about her humble beginnings as a stray kitty on the street. The students learned that Speuter was lucky to have found someone to love and care for her and went on to live a happy, healthy life. Speuter encouraged the students to think about how much better the world would be if we all took it upon ourselves to save just one pet in some way.
During the program, the students decorated paper lunch bags to be donated to the Sandhills Spay Neuter Veterinary Clinic in Vass. Each bag carries an advocacy message and will be used to dispense medications for pets after their surgery. There were many creative and imaginative bags. Two students were awarded certificates for their artwork and messages. Those receiving awards were Dylan and JD. Great work by all!
As part of the program, students were challenged to write a “Speuter” story about how pets benefit from being spayed or neutered. The stories received showcased wonderfully what the students had learned. Four students won a framed certificate and a voucher to spay or neuter their dog or the dog or cat of someone in need. The winners were Aaliyah H, Alexa B, Israel F and Kaitlyn G. Students Aaliyah and Kaitlyn were great advocates & gifted their spay/neuter voucher to someone in need. Alexa and Israel’s pets will be among the pets who will be fixed and not add to the pet overpopulation situation in Moore County.
Lynn Bain, owner/trainer with K9Foundation, along with her Belgian Malinois, Peanut, demonstrated to the students effective tips for training a dog to be “courteous” around people and obey commands. Peanut truly loves his mom and gave her lots of affection during the demonstration but was always ready to obey commands for a “paycheck”! The students listened intently and were hopefully inspired to go home and spend time training their dog with simple commands and “paychecks”, never negative reinforcement.
The students recited a Promise together, taking to heart the words they were saying. They would sign the Promise Poster when back in their classrooms, giving their intent to do their best for all animals.
We congratulate all the Vass-Lakeview fourth graders for being part of the team that makes life better for all pets in Moore County!!
