Education
Wild at Heart Foundation believe that learning to love dogs is one of the most rewarding experiences any child can benefit from. We’re honoured to have helped thousands of children (and their parents!) feel safer, happier and more emotionally intelligent around dogs through our education initiatives that seek to create better relationships between humans and animals by:
- helping people to feel more safe and confident around dogs
- teaching appropriate behaviour when handling and interacting with dogs
- dispelling myths around dogs that can be harmful for both humans and animals
- fostering respect for dogs, the role they play in our lives and society, and our responsibility of care
The role education plays in the welfare of dogs around the world cannot be underestimated. When humans learn to respect these incredible animals and appreciate the many wonderful things they can bring to our lives, they open themselves up to one of the most amazing symbiotic relationships on this planet.
Which is why we’re so excited to an exciting new development for 2021, the launch of our ‘Be Kind’ schools programme – read more here, including how you can get involved!
Overseas education projects
Whilst our Compassionate Curriculum programme is set to launch later this year in the UK, we’re all too aware that overseas, misinformation and a lack of education often leads to some of the most abhorrent abuse we’ve ever witnessed: dogs used as ‘target practice’, blinded by gunshot wounds to the face; still more beaten to within an inch of their life, or chained, abandoned, and left to starve; boxes of puppies dumped on the side of the road; litters tied up in plastic bags and binned, buried or drowned… the reality is truly heart-breaking.
Whilst sterilisation remains the most effective, compassionate method of preventing further unwanted stray litters from being born, it cannot help those that are already struggling through life on the streets, where human cruelty is one of the most dangerous hazards stray dogs face.
However abhorrent this behaviour may be, it is vital that we tackle misinformation and a lack of education that is at play in these scenarios. Passing judgement without making an effort to help change harmful behaviours will do little to solve the problem.
Instead, we aim to provide educational support alongside all our international rescue projects. Our work abroad focuses on providing communities with the tools and resources needed to care for and respect the stray dogs in their local area.