Inspite of long days in the sweltering heat, the kids and staff at Camp Kidwell greeted
us enthusiastically at our two recent visits to the camp to present our animal welfare
community outreach program, “Children, Compassion and Critters”

Presenting to two different groups in July, both just under 60 kids, ages 7-11 and age 8-14,
plus staff, we were impressed at their knowledge and more importantly, their compassion
towards animals. The kids learned about pet care, animal safety at home and on the street,
animal abuse and dog fighting and didn’t hesitate to raise their hands to answer questions
with well thought out and smart answers.

Not only do we impact the kids in our audience, we also have the opportunity to impact the
lives of their animals at home. This newly found knowledge may be the catalyst that turns
a pet’s life around from being a lonely existence to being a member of the family. This was
certainly a pet loving group with about 66 dogs, 63 cats, birds, fish, turtles, bunnies, horses,
lizards, snakes and even hedgehogs – oh my!!

A big thanks to our traveling team – therapy dog Emmy Susu and her mom Sandy, Sheri and
her 4 four foster kittens, expert kitten wranglers and new volunteers, Alana and her mom
Cara, with kittens from the shelter, and my technical assistant, Larry.

Thank you Camp Kidwell for allowing us to join in your activities and we certainly hope we
can make this an annual event.

School will be in session soon and we hope to be able to present to as many elementary
schools as possible. We’d love to get more Wishbone volunteers on board to help or if you
know of a teacher or church youth group who’d love to hear about our program, please
don’t hesitate to contact me.

Lynda Stein
312-286-6354
lsteinil@earthink.net

Perhaps you have driven by Wishbone HOUSE and thought it was a pet store or a shelter.
Wishbone HOUSE is actually the headquarters for Wishbone Pet Rescue Alliance, a
satellite facility that manages all aspects of Wishbone Pet Rescue and provides outreach
and education for the Allegan County Animal Shelter. It is also an adoption facility,
volunteer recruitment center, Thrift Shop and home to cats that have come through the
Allegan County Animal Shelter.

Home is the key word here. Wishbone HOUSE provides homes to cats. It is also home
for volunteers like Danielle Schock, a 10th grader, who volunteers on a regular basis to
socialize with the cats. So why does she volunteer? “It is fun. Cats are my favorite.
I like the bond.” Danielle began her volunteer activities on July 4, 2011 when the
Wishbone House officially opened. She said, “I come in as much as possible.”

In addition to the cats, volunteers from loving foster homes bring dogs in for adoption.
Families also volunteer weekly to play with the cats and walk our dogs for adoption.

“This is home to the cats that reside here until they are adopted into a forever home. We
are trying to educate everyone who comes in about how important it is to support the
Allegan Shelter, “said Board Secretary Michelle DeLash.

Just be prepared for the kittens, adult cats and dogs to tug at your heartstrings. I went in
to look around and Julia a gray and white tiger from one of the colonies climbed up on
my lap and “talked” to me. That was it. In a few days’ time, I adopted her. Julia is my
forever friend and her antics bring much joy into my home.

Wishbone also houses a 2000 square foot Thrift Shop that helps fund their programs like
the food pantry and spay and neuter service. The Thrift Shop, much like Goodwill, offers
an eclectic collection of usable, new and gently used items that are available for purchase.
It is a great place to find treasures for a good price to support programs like the pet food
pantry.

The inception of the Wish Upon a Bone, Pet Food Pantry associated with River Church
in Allegan, began in 2010. As of 2011, pet food assistance is now also available on the
second “Saturday of the month for Christian Neighbors, as well as the River Church food
pantry on the 3rd Saturday. Pet owners are required to be part of the associated “people”
food pantries to receive the pet food assistance.

Another vital service through the Pet Food Pantry, is their low cost neuter and spay
clinics provided by a mobile surgical bus from a state licensed vet. Fundraisers and a
grant provided the inception of this service in 2010. This preventative service explained
President Susan Smith helps the pet owners that could not afford to have it done. “The
pet owners want to be responsible,” Smith said. “The clinics,” added De Lash “help keep
the animal population under control and help families struggling financially, keep their
pets in their home.”
Wishbone HOUSE is not a shelter, but their focus is to get as many animals out of the
Allegan County shelter as possible. Wishbone HOUSE in Douglas is a homey facility
where education is critical with everyone that enters the doors. The money raised is vital
and so are the volunteers. Donations and proceeds from the Thrift Shop buy food, toys
and pay vet bills, and volunteers provide help and affection to the animals. So even, if

you have an hour or two or a day to volunteer to this cause please call.

Smith concluded,” come on over to our house and see what we have.” Wishbone house
is located on 165 Blue Star Highway in Douglas right next to the Blue Star Motel. Call
269-455-5247 to volunteer and adopt or just stop on by.

Studies have shown that how one treats animals is a direct reflection of how we treat each other. For that very reason, it is vital that we teach our children the importance of kindness, compassion and respect for animals and instill these values at a young age.

Animals, especially pets, are an important part of our lives and are regarded as family members. Business articles indicate that we spend around 51 billion dollars on our pets annually on everything from extensive medical care to daycare to gourmet diets. About 71 million homes in the U.S. have a pet(s). Yet, our shelters are still bursting at the seams with homeless cats and dogs. Between 4-5 million homeless animals are killed annually. Puppy mills, animal neglect and abuse, including dog fighting, thrives. Animal welfare community outreach is key to educating our communities and sharing the programs and resources that are available to families and their pets.

Having been involved in various aspects of animal welfare, including community outreach, in Chicago for many years, I am proud to bring my knowledge and experience to Allegan County. I am very excited to announce the launching of our official school community outreach program “Kids, Critters and Compassion”.

The program is approximately one hour long, is geared mainly to 3rd to 6th graders and is supported by a colorful power point presentation. At our recent visit to Glenn Elementary School, even the K-2nd graders were participating as enthusiastically as their older schoolmates.

It is very important that our kids learn about pet care and responsibility for a pet’s entire life span. We focus on the importance of their daily needs and bring awareness to our pet’s feeling and emotional capabilities, learning that their needs aren’t so different than ours. Those of us who own pets are well aware of their companionship and the comfort they bring to us in so many ways.

For many reasons, including health and behavioral, spaying or neutering is very positive for our pets. It is the best way to effectively reduce the over-population of unwanted cats and dogs in our communities and animal shelters. Many of the children already know the meaning of getting a pet “fixed”. Along with visuals including cardboard cut-outs of dogs/ cats showing the high numbers, a simple explanation that this is a quick operation to stop our dogs and cats from having puppies and kittens gets the message across well.

Safety around our pets at home is discussed to prevent dog and cat bites or scratches. More importantly, we discuss safety on the street when meeting a dog with an owner and safety around stray animals, especially dogs. Many of the children live in rural areas and can easily be confronted by a dog roaming free, with no collar or owner. Demonstrating to the kids how to behave in situations like this is very important to prevent them from suffering serious injuries from a dog attack.  All the kids participate in this and it’s fun to watch how enthusiastic they are about stepping up and demonstrating these techniques to the rest of the class.

Studies by the American Humane Society clearly document what is known as “The Link” – the connection between animal abuse and child abuse, domestic abuse, elder abuse and violence in general. In very simple language, we talk about how wrong and cruel animal abuse is. It is important to let a responsible adult know if they witness cruelty to a person or an animal so the proper authorities can be contacted. Dog fighting is rampant throughout the U.S., including western Michigan. It is surprising and disturbing that our young students are already familiar with this activity. It is vital that this topic is covered, the content of which is age appropriate, with no graphic visuals. It’s wrong, it’s cruel, and it’s a crime.

We conclude with the kids getting to meet and pet the animals we bring along with us, including Sandy’s wonderful therapy dog, Emmy Susu and a few kitties from the shelter. The kids can’t get enough of the animals and they all want to hold and cuddle them.

We leave all the students and teachers with packets of materials including information on all of Wishbone’s community programs along with literature on various animal topics to share with their families.

It’s very rewarding to work with these young children and from my personal experience, they all take away something from our visit. For some, it makes a huge difference in their attitude toward animals. Their enthusiasm to ask and answer questions is very heartwarming, as is their desire to share stories of their own pets.

We plan to start off the New Year by reaching out to more elementary and middle schools in the county.

If anyone is interested in volunteering with us or knows of a school that may be interested in having us present to them, I’d love to hear from you.

Lynda Stein /Contact information: lynda@wishbonepetrescue.com/312-286-6354