Meet the newest addition to our team – Happy Hannah, Humane Henry, Shelter Shelby, and Freddy Foster!

We’re excited for our new assistants to join the shelter’s Humane Education program. They travel around Pierce County visiting local schools to help teach children to be kind towards animals, how to care for them, and how to communicate with them.

“They are my life-sized, animal assistants who help kids visualize some of the points that we cover,” says Humane Education Coordinator Maggie Gipson.

Each assistant is highly qualified and brings years of experience to the table! Shelter Shelby has a “tattoo” where kids can learn that animals with a green line on their underside mean the animal has been spayed or neutered. Kids can scan Happy Hannah to find her microchip, which lists all of her owner’s information so she can be returned to her home if ever lost. Humane Henry and Freddy Foster show how to safely meet a new animal friend and demonstrate the “do’s” and “don’ts” when interacting with a pet.

Since January, the Humane Education team has presented to almost 2,000 students in the community and will continue connecting kids with animal care throughout the year!

“I enjoy seeing that no matter the age or background, animals give us commonality,” says Gipson. “There is a connection to animals that we all have, even those who don’t directly have animals in their lives. These presentations are engaging for both students and teachers to talk about pets and learn about how we can better care for them.”

The shelter’s Humane Education program offers in-person and virtual presentations for local classrooms! These presentations help inspire children to learn compassion and respect for animals.

Interested in Happy Hannah, Humane Henry, Shelter Shelby, and Freddy Foster coming to visit your classroom? Schedule a presentation today!

Source: The Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County