Local animal rescues and charities are looking to the adults and leaders of tomorrow to revolutionise how we treat, communicate and understand animals as part of groundbreaking pilot and education schemes.
"We can't adopt our way out of an overpopulation crisis," explained Olivia O'Reilly from Galway Cat Rescue, "Fostering and adoptions are great, but it won't make a difference in the long run if there are more stray animals being born.
"Rescues going into schools and educating from the ground up establishes knowledge and awareness from an early age. Children grow into adults and they will never forget that animals, if left to do so, will reproduce at a massive rate. The result of this causes issues for the community and the animals."
Educating the generations and leaders of tomorrow about the value of respecting and caring for animals, is being emphasised unlike ever before. With overcrowding and the number of abandoned and stray animals growing, over recent months rescues and animal charities across Galway have been forced into a constant state of emergency, fighting proverbial fires on a daily basis.
The solution to ending the endless waves of unwanted animals however, may lie in educating the youth of today, essentially equipping these generations with tools and knowledge for when they become the adults of tomorrow.
Responsible dog workshops
Local dog charity, Madra, is also a staunch believer in this theory, so much so that it rolled out a pilot programme for primary schools in Galway city in partnership with the Galway City Council last year.
Received with overwhelming success, the Responsible Dog Workshop has been officially approved to be rolled out in schools across Galway city this academic year, third and fourth class primary school students can learn about how best to care for our four legged friends.
"Last year's pilot was just amazing, the children were really engaged and they are just the best audience," said Dawn Divilly, director of operations for Madra.
"The workshop is split into two different sections, what it means to have a dog, how to feed and shelter a dog and the importance of controlling your dog, ensuring they are recall trained or always on a lead when they are supposed to be.
"They also take part in a big session on poo. How to pick up poo and teaching these children the correct way to clean up poo. It is funny, but so important, we use very real looking fake poos and it is just great craic."
Aided by a very large stuffed toy doberman, the children can learn about microchipping, the importance of microchipping your dog, how to read a chip and the needle used to insert the microchip. Armed with this new knowledge the children then take turns to scan for the chip using the plushy doberman.
"Education is absolutely crucial, the kids are so fabulous and are so open and eager. A vast majority of them love dogs so we hear all their stories."
Communicating with dogs
Highlighted by the recent bouts of dog attacks, the importance of knowing how to read or recognise a dog's body language and social cues has never been greater. Madra's workshop tackles the topic with children in a way that is understandable and memorable.
"The children learn all about asking permission from dog owners before you go near a dog and that you should never run up to a dog you don't know. Once the children get this permission, thanks to the workshop they know where a dog likes to be petted and where not to pet them.
"We also teach about a dog's body language. Whale eye (looking from the corner of the eye ) is subtle, but it is a cue that a dog is uncomfortable, much like excessive yawning and licking. By learning to interpret these cues, the children and the dog both get some degree of safety."
The emphasis of education
For the two rescues; Galway Cat Rescue and Madra, the opportunity to stem the current issues facing animals today through the education and encouragement of children, opens up huge potential for the future.
"Educating children about these topics doesn't cost anything but time, but it is such a worthwhile lesson," said Olivia, adding, "Because I'm a teacher and I know how children are, I have long said that it would be hugely beneficial to have an educational animal officer who visits schools.
"The funding we get from the State for the rescue is small, and to be honest it would be just as worthwhile to use that funding to educate children.
"Animals can't rescue us, they need us to help them and through education, children could change things for the better."
Long term fix
For Dawn, the opportunity to instil empathy and knowledge of how to correctly care for a child is one that is a 'slow burn' but offers a 'long term fix'.
"The challenge with the education factor is that it is a slow burn, but it is the long term fix for the problems we have in this country," explained Dawn, adding, "In Madra we often have no choice but to focus on the short term. Education schemes are challenging for us because our resources and time are so limited and stretched further by recruiting and training people to lead and build the workshops, but we feel so strongly that it is vital.
"On the day to day, we are dealing with dogs that people need us to take in. Myself and Marina [Fiddler, founder of Madra] could spend every day just rehoming and rescuing dogs, but we can't and it is so frustrating.
"Education is our contribution to make sure that in 20 or 30 years time, rescues like ours are an anomaly."
