A local K-9 Club formed last year at Whitewater Middle School and organizers are looking to duplicate it at other schools in the area.
The purpose of the club is to promote education for students, families and communities about responsible dog ownership. The focus is on the areas of care, training, breed information, dog sports/activities, jobs with dogs and dogs with jobs. It are not a rescue group but encourages the support of existing rescue organizations.
One of the organizers of the club at WMS was Vicki Dyer, a retired teacher and a current substitute in Fayette County.
“We hope that through education we will help people do more with their dogs and greatly reduce the number of dogs in shelters,” she said. “We meet after school where we have guest speakers educate us about dog care, spaying and neutering and jobs and businesses evolving dogs.”
The club also hosted “Dog Day Afternoons” where the students brought their dogs for social time and for training sessions. The students made posters and flyers to put up in the halls to inform the school about dog care and dog rescue/adoption.
There is a need for community volunteers who like working with students and dogs to help establish clubs at other schools and to help organize community activities for people and their dogs. The local organization also seeks to obtain tax-exempt status.
Anyone willing to help is encouraged to contact Dyer at [email protected].