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| About the Program |
"Canines with Class" is a Pets In Need
Action League (dba P.I.N.A.L.) humane education program offered to 3rd-graders
in elementary schools in Pinal County. Our team is a collaboration of P.I.N.A.L.
volunteers, Animal Control staff from Pinal County and Casa Grande Animal Care
and Control Agencies, and registered Therapy Dog teams. The cornerstones of the
program are safety, responsibility and compassion, all aimed at cultivating the
next generation of compassionate, thoughtful and responsible animal-caregivers.
Since the program's inception in 2009, Canines with
Class has visited with over 8,800 students in several school districts
throughout Pinal County, including Casa Grande, Stanfield, Coolidge, Florence,
Apache Junction, Arizona City, Toltec and Picacho. Each approximately
45-minute session is designed to raise children's awareness of the need to treat
animals with kindness and compassion. Responsibilities of caring for a pet are
demonstrated to the students by comparing a dog's wants and needs to their very
own, helping them relate not only to needs, but feelings that pets have. Safety
is reinforced through interactive demonstration of (1) properly greeting a dog
with an owner, and (2) safely handling a stray dog situation, which we've
learned is a common occurrence on school grounds. |
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Jacqui and Mitzi explain the
importance of I.D. tags to a student (left),
and that our pets need
food and water, just like us (right). |
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| Ranger demonstrates a magnificent "Stay"! |
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| Demonstrating how to "stand like a tree" and
avoid eye contact in the presence of a stray dog. |
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| Meet n' Greet |
The highlight of the every Canines with Class presentation is,
by far, the "meet 'n greet" session, during which students are given the
opportunity to interact with registered Therapy Dogs and their handlers. This
time gives students the opportunity to share stories of their pets, ask
questions, and meet the dogs one-on-one.
Oh, the stories and questions .
. . and, for some odd reason, the students have no problem remembering the dogs'
names, but can't for the life of them remember those of their human companions!? |
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| Breaking the Chain |
At the conclusion of every presentation students are invited
to take part in "Breaking the Chain", a
PACC911 (Phoenix Animal Care Coalition)
Educational Program that invites children to use their creative and
problem-solving skills to complete a story about Joey, a fictional dog who lives
his life on a chain. It is an integral part of our program, tying together
everything we share, and designed to help children empathize and understand
that, just like us, animals experience pain and loneliness. Ultimately, it
teaches students about kindness and compassion for all creatures - animals and
people alike.
We invite students to provide, in picture form, their
vision of how Joey's story concludes with the help of a concerned neighboring
cat, Harriet. The artwork is on display at Pinal County Animal Care and Control,
1150 S. Eleven Mile Corner Rd in Casa Grande. Stop by to view the imaginative
and inspirational work of our future pet companions! |
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| Additional Background |
| How and Why We Started Canines with Class |
| Visit our How it Started
page to learn how Canines with Class got started in Pinal County. |
| In Memoriam |
| Visit our In Memoriam
page to see Canines with Class dogs that have passed on, but will never be
forgotten. |
| Contact Us |
If you are interested in joining our team (coordinator, presenter and/or Therapy Dog team) or bringing our program to your school, please .
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| Some of the members of our 2012-13 Canines with Class
team. |
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