La protectora de Monzón “El arca de Santi” ha realizado diversas visitas a colegios e institutos de Huesca para fomentar el respeto a los animales.
During these visits, the volunteers at El Arca focus on the dogs because the shelter is designed solely to house abandoned animals. However, developing empathy towards dogs can serve as a starting point for extending respect to all animals, regardless of species.
During their visits to schools, they discuss fundamental ideas such as the following:
- Dogs are individuals with feelings that are affected by our actions.
- Dogs are not toys, therefore students should not ask their parents for them as gifts.
- When you adopt a dog, you save a life.
- Dogs require daily work and a great deal of responsibility, so before adopting, you must be very clear about what this entails.
- We shouldn't only like dogs when they are puppies.
- Since there are many abandoned dogs, we should avoid breeding our dogs or buying them from people who breed them.
- No debemos querer a los animales en función de si son guapos o feos, grandes o pequeños, de raza o callejeros. Los animales merecen nuestro respeto independientemente de su apariencia física.
To develop these values in students, volunteers carry out activities such as the following:
- They give talks in schools and colleges using PowerPoint presentations.
- They tell the students real stories about some of the dogs that have arrived at the shelter.
- Schools screen films related to animal respect during tutoring hours, and afterwards, volunteers from the Ark visit the schools and discuss the films with the students.
- They bring cardboard with photos of some of the dogs in their care and make masks; afterwards, they ask the children to try to express how they think the dogs feel after being abandoned or after finding a real family.
- They bring a dog to schools so that students can meet it and understand that it is an individual with interests and rights. It's important to note that the dogs are selected with extreme care. L'Arche only brings dogs to schools that can benefit from contact with children, so they are not used as an educational tool; rather, the benefit is shared by both the dog and the students. Furthermore, L'Arche volunteers are always attentive to ensure the dog is enjoying the visit.
- The students are offered the opportunity to volunteer at the animal shelter, walking dogs and helping with other tasks. They are also informed that their families can volunteer as foster homes or sponsors for one of the shelter's dogs.
Visita la web de El Arca de Santi en la siguiente dirección: http://www.elarca.es/. o en Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ElArcaDeSanti. Puedes entrar en contacto con ellos a través del email: info@elarca.es o del siguiente teléfono: 669702060
If you are a teacher and find this activity interesting, get in touch with the animal shelter or animal rights association in your area and invite them to do an activity at your school!