When Grace Clinton was a college student, she visited Helping Hands Humane Society in Topeka to adopt a dog. She happily ended up with Padma, a Border Collie.
Today, Grace is the director of philanthropy at the shelter, and enjoys sharing her love of animals. “Starting at the age of 10, children can volunteer here, as long as they are accompanied by a parent until the age of 16,” she says. “Part of what we offer is one on one, hands-on learning such as safe handling skills, how to read animals’ body language, and how to interact with animals.”
Grace emphasizes that it's very important for children to understand how to approach a dog, to allow a dog to greet you, and how to read if a dog may not be interested in interacting. “We teach that a wagging tail doesn't always mean a dog is happy. It usually means the animal is stimulated, and that can be either positive or negative. It could also mean that the animal is very stressed.”
Other signs of stress are wide eyes, looking away, leaning back or taking a step back. That's an indicator that you're in the pet's space and it doesn't like it. Plus, know your exits and make sure the animal has an exit too, so it doesn't feel trapped.
“The biggest thing for us to teach is understanding consent - it's a critical life skill for all ages whether you’re talking about animals or people,” she says. “We should not try to force ourselves on pets. Usually, they're communicating with us long before we start listening; we just have to pay attention.” While children are learning these skills, it’s also providing socialization for the shelter animals.
Helping Hands also offers presentations to school groups and civic groups like the Girl Scouts at the shelter or other locations. Dogs who have been previously adopted from the shelter and have undergone some level of training or certification attend these presentations too.
“We allow the dogs to go around and greet the children,” says Grace. “We talk about how to pet a dog, how we don't pet their faces, or put our hands or heads near their faces.”
These presentations also include animal welfare education, such as the importance of spaying and neutering, feeding nutritious food, providing clean water, and how to walk a dog.
There are many great dogs, and cats, available at the shelter, and they can be just as wonderful as pets that you buy at great expense. Amazingly, Kristol Kumar, a photographer for Topeka City Lifestyle magazine, and her family found this out in June while shooting the photos for this article.
“After the photoshoot we went online and saw a couple dogs that we wanted to look at,” she says. Kristol and her husband John, plus sons 16-year-old Gabe and 12-year-old Micah, were able to meet both dogs and find out more about them and to make sure they would get along with their cats, Neo and Coco.
The one they chose to adopt is an Australian Shepherd, Kelpie and possibly collie mix they named Maverick, inspired by the movie, Top Gun. “He's such a sweet dog and has really integrated well into our family,” says Kristol.
The other dog, a purebred German Shepherd, was adopted by Kristol’s mother, Ginger, who named him Cash.
Many times, says Grace, people have a specific breed in mind, but she encourages them to come in and meet their dogs. “We have a fit for just about every home. It's just a matter of keeping your eyes and hearts open minded.”
To adopt, volunteer, or learn more, go to HHHSTopeka.org.