Originally a school presentation for kids in the age of 8-10.

Hi, we are here to talk about animal welfare and some things you might want to know about having / keeping a pet.

Let’s take a look at various pets that people have. The next slides shows a variety of dogs to suit keepers.

Hunting dogs

Rescue Dogs

Sheep Dogs

Guide Dogs for blind & handicapped people

But most animals, we call pets, are our best friends. Well at least they definitely consider us their best friend …

Are we really worth their friendship? Who can tell us what the basic needs are for animals/pets?

Happy pets!

Healthy pets!

According to the RSPCA, there are 5 basic requirements that lead to a healthy & happy pet. 1.Home & Shelter 2.Proper diet & fresh clean water 3.Exercise 4.Appropriate company 5.Protection and treatment of illness and injury

Imagine if you lived outside with no shelter in the summer heat or the cold and windy rainy days we get here in the winter? How unhappy and possibly ill would you get?

It is proven that a healthy diet and regular exercise increases your life span. This is also true for animals. Fast food, sweets and generally foods high in salts are bad for dogs … But so is NO food!

No Food?

Exercise to be allowed to express their normal behavior, having enough space to run around, to sniff about and explore. Imagine if your parents tied you to your desk? Or never let you go out to parties? Or imagine if your parents only let you go out for 2 months of the year and were not allowed to speak to anyone?

We want to explore!

Exercise!

No exercise 

Just like you like to hang out with your friends, so do dogs like to hang out with other dogs. They are, what we call, 'Pack ‘ animals, so taking them for walks, where they get to ‘meet’ other dogs and sniffing is good for them. Imagine if your parents never let you text, call, face book or speak to anyone? Do you think you would be a happy kid?

Company …

Like us, dogs can get sick too. Imagine if you got really sick and your parents just left you outside and hoped that you just got better on your own? Do you think you would? Sometimes, we NEED to visit a Doctor, just like our pets do.

These are 5 very basis things that, like humans, dogs need to survive. If you could chose to give up 1 of these, which would you give up and why? Difficult choice isn’t it? Dogs that have even 1 of these basic needs removed, look like this: As we can see, removing one of these basic needs can really change an animals life. How different is this from abuse? Why do you think people abuse animals?

Animal abuse is not only what harm we actively do to pets, but also what we inactively do to them. In other words, not feeding them properly or leaving them in the sun tied to a 2 meter rope with no water is also abuse. People who abuse animals are considered to be uncivilized, uncaring and even mentally unstable.

The next photo’s show some severe forms of abuse on dogs.. You may turn your head if you can not watch it. Some of these dogs did not survive … some however where rescued and are being adopted by nice family's.

I don’t think most of those dogs had a happy ending … however, let me tell you a story about an abused animal that HAS a happy ending, the story of: Gypsy.

Gypsy was found on the Island, soaking wet, very sad and weighing 10 kilo less than what she should have weighed. He also had a very deep, open neck wound that was caused by a rusty piece of wire, tied onto his ‘rope’ collar. The wounds on his legs were caused by biting himself as he was bored and Stressed.

It took many months of care to get him to where he is today; food, antibiotics, cleaning his wounds and just loving him. Now he travelled to his new home in the Netherlands

Worldwide there are many abused dogs, but even more homeless dogs. Just walk around your area, can you see them wandering about and looking for food and friends? Why, do you think, became these dogs homeless?

Reasons for becoming homeless … Puppy’s given as a Christmas or Birthday present, because Puppy’s are always “cute”.

Homeless dogs, due to cost of keeping a dog …

Dogs that are bored and therefore damage or destroy possessions / property …

Dog obsolete due to shifting priorities of child, no time for Pet …

Unneutered dogs that have become pregnant and as a result have multiplied existing problem …

Discussion …

Owning and caring for a dog is rewarding and challenging, however, it is also a great responsibility. From the moment you take that puppy home, he is yours to care for. How good a pet owner do you think you are / would be? In conclusion, pets are not just for the time they are pups and so cute. They are for the rest of their life. Real pets become a part of the family … you wouldn’t throw your grandmother out on the street because she wasn’t cute anymore?! You wouldn’t ignore your best friend because you suddenly found new friends? Speaking of friends, let’s be frank, no friend is more loyal than a dog. How many times have you argued with your sister/brother and they took days to talk to you? Or consider your best friend, who might not speak to you for weeks! A dog would never stop being your best friend. There is perhaps no more loyal pet than a Dog!

Worldwide there are many organizations that help abused and abandoned dogs. There are many success stories of sick and underfed dogs that got healthy again and are re-homed with nice family's. So as you can see, there are people who can help, but how can YOU help? How can you/me make that difference? The important difference you can make is, that once you have looked into getting a dog, you must be responsible for it, for the rest of its life. The first thing you should do is to ‘sterilize’ your dog. Do you know what the word ‘sterilize’ means? Sterilization prevents the female dog from having puppies, and so, much less homeless dogs. See schedule on the next page …

‘One’ female dog can get a litter of 12 pups, multiply that by 2 times a year, for at least six years, that is about 144 puppies …

This is just one way we can help our pet. Plus giving the 5 basic needs that we mentioned earlier. Now, does anyone have any questions?

Pure breed versus mixed: Stray dogs have a better resistance to diseases, are known to be physically tougher, can be as equally if not more, affectionate and responsive to their keeper. There is NO shame in having a rescue dog, you are not considered ‘cooler’ because you have a dog that is a ‘pure breed’. Is this how you would choose your friends? The best friend you could ever have? Your dog will always love you, no matter what; they will always be there for you. Will you turn your back on your responsibilities toward them? They will leave you with the most memorable moments of your life. It is all in your hands …

This presentation was originally made by Animal Rescue Kos. and is for public use by