A Week at HRA!

Caring Kids Spring Break Camp campers met many  animals during their week at HRA. They also helped us help the animals by making cat and dog toys, assembling pupscicles (frozen dog treats made with dog food, peanut butter, applesauce, and pumpkin) and decorated e-collars to give a festive look to recently spayed and neutered dogs and cats awaiting adoption. Campers were always eager to offer pats and cuddles to every animal they met.

The start of summer camp is less than 8-

weeks away. Lots of animal welfare enthusiasts live in the DMV; all four summer camps -- Careers, All About Animals, Animal Advocates, and Art and Animals -- are completely full. We are excited to have lots of new workshop leaders this year and many past camp favorites returning to share their passion, expertise, and animals with us! 

Animal Enthusiasts Camp at WARL

WARL 101Campers participated in a
spay workshop led by Medical Director,
Dr. Jan Rosen.  All surgeries were successful.
The beanie cats and dogs recovered
and went home with the campers!

All About Animals campers
got up close and personal with
snakes and other reptiles & amphibians
during a hands-on Reptiles Alive
presentation.

Our  three Caring Camp 2015 sessions each had a different focus, but all brought campers who love animals to  the Washington Animal Rescue League.   Several campers visited the animals weeks after their sessions ended and there were numerous parent/camper discussions about volunteering and adopting.   We expect that the 45 campers who attended WARL 101, All About Animals and Animals & Art will be life-long animal advocates.

With four weeks left until school starts in D.C., there is still plenty of summer left.  We are expecting other camps learn about our work during shelter tours in the coming weeks.

Animals & Art campers worked all week, painting  a full-room mural.
 WARL future campers, staff and visitors will enjoy the
 artwork, designed by area artists, for years to come.

Happy Endings! New Beginnings!!

School started in many area schools last week, and it starts in my neighborhood on Monday, so I was planning to write about the importance of not approaching stray animals on your way to school.  And, if your dog accompanies you to the bus stop, make sure that your dog is properly leashed and doesn't bother kids who may not want Rover licking them or jumping up on their clean school clothes.  BUT, I have to run just one more camp post.   We heard from an adopter who adopted one of the pups from our training camp.  Gaga, who was Luke and Eli's pup for the week, has a new name and a loving forever home.

Her adopter wrote --

It's impossible for me to describe all the ways that she brings me joy -- even when I get up in the early hours of the morning! I decided on a name for the little gal yesterday -- "Mari". She's an incredibly social puppy -- she loves people and other dogs and that got me thinking that she's a bit of a social butterfly. The Spanish word for butterfly is "mariposa" and I thought Mari was a novel enough name for her and short enough that she'd easily recognize it.
Thank you for everything -- Mari is a great puppy and I couldn't be happier to have her in my life.

What a perfect way to end summer break.

Training Camp 101 Concludes with Campers & Pups Graduating with Honors

Pepe is an A+ student during training time with Satchel, Abe
and Frank, a loyal WARL volunteer.

Friday marked graduation day for four adorable nearly 8-week-old pups -- Pickles, Pita, Pepe and Pier (also know as Pepper).  The wee-little ones sat, stayed, touched markers and even did tricks.   The fast little learners were taught by eight very able campers who spent the week at the League's first-ever Caring Kids -- Dog Training 101 -- Camp. 

Four pairs of campers were assigned a pup for the week.  The campers prepared the pups' special training space, cleaned up after their accidents, and worked with our Behavior & Training staff to have the little terrier mixes ready for adoption at the end of the week. 

All four pups were quickly adopted, including Pepe who now lives with  Abe and Satchel, the camper brothers who fell in love with their protege during their five days at the League.   When  mom, dad and sister met Pepe they, too, fell for the biggest pup in the litter.  But, there was one deciding vote yet to be cast.  Mookie, the family's 14-year-old lab, had final say.   After a successful meeting it was unanimous.   

First Session of Caring Kids Camp Concludes

Masterpieces, that's what were created by our 17 campers during Caring Kids Camp Session 1 -- Animals and Art.   The compassionate campers designed busy boxes for the cats, adoption posters promoting cats and dogs, and created the most awesome paper mache' like animals ever seen in the Washington Animal Rscue League!  Pictures of the entire menagerie will be posted soon, but in the meantime, go to www.warl.org and click on flicker pictures to view photos from the first days of camp.

Caring Kids Camp in Full Swing

Fourteen D.C. kids are participating in the first-ever Caring Kids Camp held at the Washington Animal Rescue League. The League and the Metropolitan Police Department joined forces to host the week-long camp that promotes kindness, compassion, responsibility and lots of puppy time.

Caring Kids Camp is truly a community effort. The camp was made possible because of the generosity of Whole Foods Market in Silver Spring, Papa John's of the National Capital Region, Safeway, Council member Bowser and community supporter Keith Jarrell.

More on the camp and the week's many activities including a field trip to Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary and interesting speakers including Fire Investigators and their four-legged partners in a later post. In the meantime, check out the expressions on our happy campers' faces and their cute photo buddies.