Ms. Habiger is bringing compassion for animals to her 7th grade students, and they are helping dogs get adopted. At the Los Alamitos Middle School in Grants, they used The Animal Connection virtual curriculum and applied humane education concepts learned in their life science class. Under the guidance of their teacher, Catherine Habiger, they were encouraged to think like scientists to tackle one of their community’s most pressing issues: animal overpopulation.
As a former ACO officer, Ms. Habiger cares deeply about pet overpopulation and encouraged her students to see life science through compassion and kindness. They reviewed local and state animal care and safety laws to give students the tools to understand and advocate for animal welfare in their community. Together, Ms. Habiger and her students developed a compassionate action project. This project was a result of a strong partnership with the City of Grants Police Department and the City of Grants Animal Care Center, which provided students with a platform to encourage the Grants community to adopt long-term dogs and cats from the Grants shelter.
“Students wrote adoption letters on behalf of dogs and cats to help long-term animals find homes,” says Ms. Habiger. “The project also deepens a student’s understanding of the responsibilities and joys of pet ownership. This hands-on experience is instrumental in nurturing a culture of empathy and respect for all living beings and reinforces our community’s values of compassion and responsibility.” Ms. Habiger has been updating students, parents, and the Grants community on the project via Facebook. At the end of May, the Los Alamitos Middle School 7th grade life science class helped adopt three long-term shelter dogs who had been there for over 80 days. Ms. Habiger would like to thank APNM and the Bonner family for helping make this pilot project successful.
To learn more about The Animal Connection program and how to start your own compassionate action project, visit the website: https://theanimalconnection.learnworlds.com/
