HULL – Superintendent Judith Kuehn and Principal Christine Cappadona are pleased to share that the Lillian M. Jacobs Elementary School hosted a dog safety event for kindergarten students recently.
On Friday, May 6, Cathy Acampora and Trish Morse from the Plymouth County 4-H Program presented a dog safety program with their respective therapy dogs, Merida and Parker. The dog safety program teaches students about basic dog safety and provides information about service dogs.
“We are so glad to be able to provide students with information about dog safety and service dogs,” Superintendent Kuehn said. “It’s such an important topic for students to learn about, especially at a young age, plus the kids love the opportunity to interact with the dogs in such a fun way.”
At the presentation students learned the following:
Basic Dog Safety
- Although people like to look into each other’s eyes, dogs do not like this.
- Although people like hugs, dogs do not.
- Dogs do not like strangers to pat them on the head
Playing with a Dog
There are certain signs that dogs will give out when they want a break from you. If you see these warnings, your dog needs a break from you. These signs are:
- Showing the white part of their eyes
- A big yawn
- Showing teeth
- Scratching themselves
- Licking their lips after all the other signs
Service Dogs
- Working dogs/service dogs have a vest that says “do not pet”. This is because the dog is working and needs to concentrate.
- Working dogs can have various jobs such as helping people who might not be able to see or stand on their own.
- You can interact with service dogs when they are not at work and after talking with the person in charge.
Students also watched the dogs do tricks such as helping a person stand up by putting body weight on the dog, showing teeth, showing white parts of their eyes, licking lips, and “waiting” with food on their nose.
“This was a very fun event for students that also taught them valuable information that they can use in the future,” said Principal Cappadona. “We thank Cathy and Trish from the Plymouth County 4-H Program for taking the time to give this presentation for our students.”
About the Plymouth County 4-H Program
4-H is the largest youth organization in the United States. The four H’s stand for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. The program provides youth ages 5-18 with opportunities to get involved in the community such as going to camp, riding in a bike rodeo, creating a blog, giving a presentation, participating in a community service project, developing a resume, learning about healthy eating habits, and more.
###