Bringing children and animals together for Teaching, Love and Compassion at the SPCA

By Jennifer Tebo

When you think of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, you think about dogs, cats, bunnies and birds. Now everyone will be thinking dogs, cats, bunnies, birds and children.

More and more SPCA's are getting involved with after school humane education programs like the Teaching Love and Compassion program at the Erie County SPCA, located in Tonawanda, a suburb outside of Buffalo, N.Y.

"TLC is a violence prevention program that pairs at-risk children from alternative and city schools with dogs that have behavior problems," explained Beth Shapiro the director of humane education.

Shapiro said the program was designed by the Los Angeles, Calif. SPCA and was brought to the Erie County SPCA from the support of the Cummings Foundation and many other volunteers.

Last year the Buffalo Sabres Foundation offered the SPCA $ 5,000 if the gift can be matched dollar for dollar with gifts that supporters in the community can purchase from the Erie County SPCA, she explained.

Buffalos Sabres hockey player Adam Mair and his wife Alli volunteer in the TLC program at the Erie County SPCA.

"My husband and I have always been big animal lovers and we really wanted to be involved in a charity, so we thought what better place than the SPCA," Alli said, expressing her love for animals.

Alli volunteers her time to the TLC program almost everyday whenever her schedule is free. Adam is also there whenever he gets time in between his busy hockey schedule, Alli explained.

"I love the program, it's wonderful and the kids are great, it really opens their eyes to a lot of problems that come up with animals," Alli explained.

Inside the building of the Erie County SPCA, just past the admissions office and just a few turns down a hall to the auditorium is where this program starts Monday through Friday, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. There are four sessions held a year at the SPCA and there are 4 1/2 weeks in a session. The kids are seventh and eighth-grade students from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Multicultural Institution in Buffalo.

The eight students in last years program sit and listen to the rules on their first day in the auditorium that is about half the size of a school gym. They sit around four rectangular shaped desks that are put together to form one big desk. Their chairs are made with blue fabric and metal frames. On the desk in front of them sits a blue folder and a pen.

The kids sit quietly with their eyes focused on Shapiro as she goes over the rules they must follow while they are in the program. While in the background a worker at the SPCA changes the food dishes in the 4-foot-high cages that hold the wounded and sick cats in the room.

"No yelling is one rule. Can anyone else give me another rule that should be followed," Shapiro asks the children as she directs Letitia Grissom, to an easel with a white plastic board resting on it.

"No swearing," one student yells out with her hand flailing in the air.

"Yes, swearing is something we do not do here," Shapiro says, as Letitia writes the rules down on the board with a black erasable marker.

Leticia is a seventh-grader and a former student of the TLC program and she graduated from the TLC program just a few weeks before. Now Leticia is a mentor with the program. She gets to help out the teachers and volunteers. She also gets to teach other students her age about what she learned from the program.

"I love the program, we get to have fun, we get to train dogs and we get snacks. We also have a big party on the last day," Letitia explains as she dances in place.

"We now have mentors that come back after they graduate from the program; it is a great evaluation process to see how the program has affected them. At the end of the TLC program, the children receive a certificate with a picture of the dog they trained on it, along with a sweatshirt with TLC trainer and their name on it. Also the mentors get to graduate again and receive another sweat shirt with TLC mentor on it," Shapiro explained.

"This is a great way to evaluate the students' progress, and also the school district is now going to help us and let us know what Buffalo high school the kids will be going to," Shapiro said as her eyes light up from the exciting news.

The Erie County SPCA is holding a conference in June 2008 that will be hosted for humane educators across the country, she explained.

Shapiro said with honest emotion, "We are trying to create an alliance between animal shelters across the North East, including Ontario, Canada to let other animal shelters know about the TLC program and to exchange ideas on humane education across the country."

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