Teach Kids About Pet Care & Safety Using Stuffed Animals

Teaching kids how to properly care for a pet is so important.  As many of you know, Icy and I are a Therapy Dog team.  We make several different kinds of visits throughout our community through Bideawee, in Long Island NY.  Bideawee is near and dear to my heart, not only because Icy and I do our Therapy Dog work through them but because I got my first dog, Ginny from them. Having Ginny in our lives meant so much to our family, I'll always be grateful to Bideawee for giving that to us!

Icy listens intently during one of our Kids Reading Aloud To Dogs visits, helping kids improve their reading skills

One of the therapy visits we are sometimes asked to do is speak to children about what Therapy Dogs do, and also about how to properly care for pets.  I've done a couple of these visits with girl scouts and younger kids, talking with them about pet care and proper interaction with dogs.  We talk about thinks like:

🐶 Providing food, fresh clean water, and shelter
🐶 How to approach and interact with a dog safely - always ask before petting!
🐶 Dog's body language - a wagging tail doesn't always mean a dogs is happy!
🐶 The importance of walks, playtime, and exercise
🐶 Having proper identification on the dog at all times
🐶 How you know when a dog is sick, and the importance of Veterinary care
🐶 The difference between a Therapy Dog and a Service Dog

As a member of the Bayer Animal Health Pet Influencer Team, I was given a box of adorable stuffed dogs.  The dogs were modeled after a puppy named Champ who appeared in Bayer Advantix flea/tick commercials several years ago.  You can see this and some of his other adorable Advantix commercials on YouTube by clicking this link .

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Use stuffed animals to teach kids about pet health & safety, & the importance of Vet care

When Bayer asked if we'd like some stuffed Champ pups to donate or share to help children learn about pet care and safety, they included suggestions on how we might use the stuffed pups:

💝 Teach kids about general pet care and Veterinary care
💝 Teach kids about keeping pets active; demonstrate fun things to do with pets
💝 Take along on Therapy visits to a hospital to provide comfort and bring smiles
💝 Use to illustrate that you should never leave pets in a hot car

When I received the stuffed pups and Bayer's suggestions on how they could be used, I immediately thought of Bideawee.   I thought the box of Champ pups would be perfect for their pet education visits with kids, or for therapy visits to local hospitals.  I reached out to my Volunteer Manager, Alicia Ryan, and she was happy to have our donation of stuffed dogs for Bideawee!

Me with Alicia,  Sr. Manager, Volunteer Programs at Bideawee, holding one of the stuffed Champ pups outside their Wantagh, Long Island facility.

Bideawee is a no-kill shelter that rescues both dogs and cats. We care for each animal we take in until they find a loving forever-home. Bideawee means "stay a while" in Scottish, each animal is meant to "stay a while". We were founded over 110 years ago in 1903 and Bideawee is one of the OLDEST animal welfare organizations in the United States! Bideawee has lots of dogs and cats up for adoption, ready to find new homes! We not only have animals for adoptions, but we have animals that make special visits, to bring the love of pets to our community. It’s called our pet therapy program! We have this program because pets make people feel good and we want everyone to feel good!

PROUD MEMBER OF THE BAYER PET INFLUENCER TEAM!

Thank You to BAY ANIMAL HEALTH for sending us these adorable stuffed animals to help educate kids on pet care and safety!

I had to give one of the stuffed dogs to Phoebe, she insisted on having one for herself! She loves to snuggle with it!

Get More Pet Health & Safety Tips & Therapy Dog Information here:

Pet Health Tip from an expert Veterinarian at Bayer  

Pet Safety Tips both at home and while on Outings

Are these Pet Dangers lurking in YOUR yard?

How Therapy Dogs Help Kids Improve Their Reading Skills