The Kuerner brothers, John, 4, and Will, 6, had fun last summer gathering branches and leaves for bird nests, touching real bird feathers and gathering nuts and berries for wildlife — all as part of a Backyard Buddies program at PAWS in Seattle.
But the experience wasn’t just fun, it was also meant to teach the kids about respecting animals and treating them humanely.
While shelters have offered children and teens general humane education for 50 years, in the past few decades, more programs such as PAWS’ have been popping up, teaching children or teens through summer events, camps or volunteering. Parents and shelter staff say the programs help nurture a better sense of responsibility and compassion for animals.
“I think my kids really only see these animals from afar, so it was able to make it more real for them by literally bringing things closer to them,” said Sarah Kuerner, the boys’ mom. “It’s something they can understand now. It really helps connect the dots.”
Last summer, Lucas and John Fonseca, 8 and 10 years old respectively, got to meet a bearded dragon.
“They look really cool and when I held it, it just was super calm,” said John, who now has one of the lizards as a pet.
John and Lucas love hanging out with dogs, cats and bunnies, but for their mom, Angie Fonseca, learning to respect and treat animals humanely was an even better reason she enrolled her sons in Animal Adventure Camp, a program for 5- to 13-year-olds at the San Diego Humane Society. Fonseca is a former humane society employee who continues to volunteer.
Lucas and John learned to ask permission to pet a dog, read its body language and stroke it gently on the back. They also learned to interact safely and gently with small mammals.
The Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago started a half-day program called “The Pact,” in 2009, where children learn about responsibilities related to caring for domesticated pets. The animal shelter also has a vet mentoring program for teens, as well as programs for kids of all ages to read to cats, feed rabbits and guinea pigs and make toys.
“You realize how much love and care go into the animals here,” said Brenda Castillo, 16, of Chicago, who attended a caretaking program in August.
During that program, teens helped stock food and litter supplies in cages and clean an office where a bunny, her babies and a dove were living while awaiting adoption.
Emma Seppala, science director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University School of Medicine, said encouraging children to identify their own emotions helped them empathize with pets.
“Animals have the same range of basic emotions as we do. Fear, happiness and calmness. So when a child is able to identify that in himself, then you can start to talk about how that exists in others too,” said Seppala.
