Kids For Canines Supports After-Adoption Trainer

By Kendra Bobowick

They want to help the dogs.

“These kids will be doing a lot, it’s a great thing,” said Kids For Canines founder Amy Sullivan. She and St Rose School student government and honor society members will kick off a fundraising effort on March 24, during a tour of the Newtown dog pound.

For the rest of this school year, students will be conducting a campaign to raise money for Rob Mullens, known as the Canine Wizard, who conducts in-home follow-up training with adopted dogs.

“Taz [a pit-bull at the pound for 18 months] is a perfect example of how this works,” she said. The dog has been in his new home for three months, “and is doing well,” with Mr Mullens’s help, Ms Sullivan said.

The Canine Wizard follows through with the transition of a dog into the home, Ms Sullivan said, and helps to make makes “successful transitions” for the adopted pets and families. His visits are funded through Kids For Canines.

On March 24 at 10 am when they visit the pound, “The kids will be taking pictures of the dogs and getting excited to begin the fundraising at their school,” Ms Sullivan said.

“This is going to be a great thing for the school and these kids,” Ms Sullivan said. She started the Kids For Canines three years ago to promote children’s understanding of responsible pet ownership.

The St Rose students will be doing the following for their fundraising campaign: collecting dog and cat stuffed animals and attaching adoption cards and selling them for $5 at the Newtown pound, baking dog treats and selling them for $5 a bag around town and at the school, taking pictures of the adoptable dogs and making posters for the school so the students can see who they are supporting, placing boxes in classrooms and lobby area of school to collect the following items for the pound and the food pantry to help residents in town take care of the pets: dog and cat food, cat litter, pigs’ ears, dog and cat treats, towels, pet beds, collars and leashes, bleach, paper towels, laundry detergent, pet toys, brushes, dog shampoo.

To find out more about how to support this campaign, contact Amy Sullivan at BoxerAmy@gmail.com.