By Henri Morineau
The Humane Society has kicked off its ‘Summer of Fun’ initiative to help children on island get a deeper understanding of animal care and welfare.
Each week, the Humane Society will post a new activity on its Facebook and Instagram account. Each activity is designed to be fun, promote creativity and independence, and requires minimal parental involvement.
Cassandra McAfee, treasurer of the Humane Society, said the initiative was the brainchild of one of the charity’s volunteers, Dorota Lecznarowicz.
“She was talking to a lot of other mums, where the mums were saying there’s not much for these kids to do in the summer holidays. So, she devised each activity over the course of the next eight to nine weeks,” McAfee said.
View this post on Instagram
For this week’s activity, kids are encouraged to go outside with their art supplies and draw a picture of a pet or any animal they see – such as a dog, cat, chicken or bird. Once done, they can send a picture of their artwork with their name, to [email protected]. Each entry will be judged, and at end of the summer, the winners will receive a small prize.
“It’s about understanding what it takes to be a pet owner,” McAfee said. “And hopefully getting them to know that it’s not just all fun and games when you’re playing with a puppy. That puppy will grow up, and you’ll need to keep looking after it and keep loving it obviously.”
To promote animal care and wellness, this week’s post also highlighted the importance of spaying and neutering, stating, “Did you know just one unspayed cat can lead to over 2,000 kittens in just three years?”
“We don’t have the homes on the island, which is why we also have to transport the animals off island to either Canada or Tampa or New York, and go into those states that aren’t kill states, but, try and give them a better life where there’s more people with homes to give them a better life,” McAfee said.
To take part in Summer of Fun, visit the Humane Society pages on Instagram and Facebook.
Related Videos
