A few weeks ago I answered a call from Judy, a first grade teacher at Stadley Rough Elementary School in Danbury. The students were finishing a 'character trait' lesson about kindness and, as part of the program, they ran a 'Pennies for Pets' fundraiser for DAWS! Judy invited me to bring some volunteers and our pets to the school to meet the kids and talk to them about our shelter and the work we do so that they could really understand the importance of kindness to animals and also understand how the money they raised would be used.

So, I loaded Ruby in the car and met Barbara and Bay, Maria and Miko, Jenn and Tiger, Lynn and Doris, and Cindy and Oliver at the school this morning. Holly came to help and to take pictures (which I'll post here over the weekend).

The students were so well-behaved. They sat quietly and were very respectful of the animals. They understood that the animals were in a new environment and might be nervous, so they were extra careful. Matthew, the class president, then presented us with a check for over $500! All raised by collecting pennies!! We then introduced ourselves and our pets and told the story of how they came to DAWS and then were adopted by each of us.

We talked to them about why it's not a good idea to declaw cats and also about preventing animal overpopulation by spaying and neutering.

It was a fantastic experience and Judy told us that it was so rewarding for the children to see the beneficiaries (well, representatives) of their fundraiser.

Bravo to Stadley Rough Elementary! Thanks for helping DAWS.