It’s our last week of summer camp at the AWLA, and campers, staff members and Alexandria’s Animals will have memories from this summer that will last a lifetime! Each week dogs (and other animals) from the shelter joined camp as honorary camp counselors to teach the campers about meeting new dogs and understanding dog body language. Our campers learned so much this summer that they wanted to share a bit with you:
What else did our campers learn about?
- Dog training and exercise and service dogs from guest speakers
- Animal body language with shelter staff
- How to choose a pet
- Animal enrichment activities for shelter animals and ideas for pets at home
- Kennel dressing to make every dog’s kennel cozy
- Crafts with counselor dog Delilah
- Reading to cats to help them relax
Lana Larson, the AWLA’s Youth Programs Educator, was so happy to spend her second summer with Alexandria’s youngest animal lovers. Here’s a note from her:
Camp this summer was a big hit with over 115 campers over the course of 8 weeks! This summer kids learned animal body language of dogs, cats and rabbits, focused on the needs of animals both in a shelter and out, and heard from many community partners about different animal related topics! Frolick Dogs talked about exercising your pups, Alexandria’s Animal Services discussed their role in the community, and they even got to meet some service dogs in training from groups such as Canine Companions for Independence and Veterans Moving Forward. We hope that we instilled a love for animals and helped campers learn how to help choose the best pet for their family!
If this sounds like something your school-age student might enjoy, we’ll have more information next spring about our 2019 AWLA camps!
Winston was adopted shortly after making this video with our campers, but Delilah is still look for a family of her own. You can find our full list of adoptable animals HERE.