Good things come in small packages

This saying rings so true for one little individual by the name of Mary Alexander.

Long time blog followers may recall RSPCA NSW Education Team’s encounter with Miss Mary last year when she decided, at the ripe old age of 6, to ask for donations to RSPCA NSW instead of presents for her birthday. It was an amazing request by a young individual who just knew that animals needed her help.

Well hold onto your hats bloggers because if you thought that was astounding, Mary has outdone herself this year! She again passed up the opportunity to receive gifts of things and this time invited all of the Year 1 children from her school to a party of enormous proportions! With this came that all too familiar request of gifts in the form of a donation to RSPCA NSW and generously give they did!

Mary raised a whopping $1065!

Education Officer, Eva, couldn’t believe it last year when she heard of Marys’ amazing feat, so you can imagine that she was completely beside herself and totally impressed with Marys’ efforts this time around. Not to say it doesn’t take two wonderful parents to support Miss Mary endeavours but as Gaelene, her mother, reminds us time and time again, the idea was all Marys without a hint of parental influence!

To show Mary how her funds help RSPCA NSW assist the 45,000 animals that come through their doors, Eva along with Jodie, RSPCA Tuggerah Care Centre Manager, took Mary and her family on a tour of our newest adoption facility.

RSPCA NSW and all the animals can’t wait to see what you’ve got planned for your birthday next year Mary!



Jodie, Eva and Mary with one of

the lovely canines awaiting adoption!

 

We heart you too!



Thank You #1...Inspectors!

As RSPCA NSW Educators, we know that the smaller the groups, the more chance we have of engaging in good discussion and maintaining a high level of interaction but imagine a ratio of of 1:226,213. That's the number people in New South Wales to each RSPCA NSW Inspector, with the potential for thousands of cruelty complaints, where each one may require hours, days, weeks of investigation.

Overwhelming isn’t is? Faced with dealing with some of the most severe acts of animal cruelty, RSPCA NSW Inspectors are a resilient bunch. As the main animal law enforcement body in the State, the pressure is definitely on our small team of 32 Inspectors but with the lows come some amazing highs when they come to the aid of an animal in need. And unlike Superman with his keen awareness of damsel in distress, RSPCA NSW relies on the community to keep an eye out and make a report when they think there’s an animal in trouble.

With over 15,000 cruelty complaints made in the last year, it’s amazing to see that many of these are resolved with a conversation and some education around animal welfare and the proper care of our creatures great and small.

So we take the time to say thank you to our heroes: RSPCA NSW Inspectors, members of the community and all you responsible pet owners whose animals will never know what it means to be unwanted, neglected or abused.

Rose Hill Public ‘Thank You’ cards went out to some of our Regional Inspectors and Natalie, one of our Metropolitan Inspectors!

Keep up the awesome work Nat!

Let the 'thanking' begin...

Rosehill Public School, you have definitely left your mark here at RSPCA NSW!

Blog followers, keep your eyes peeled over the upcoming weeks to see the students' 'Thank You' cards given out all over the organisation, thanking numerous people from various Departments for their work preventing animal cruelty!

'Thank You' number one is just around the corner...

Education Officer, Eva, is ready and raring to go!

Book...dog?!

Everyday the RSPCA NSW Education Team have a mission: ensure that learning is happening all over the State! So where better to stage a learning event than in a library!

During the School Holidays, Education Officer, Eva and her trusty sidekick, Rusty, took a day out of their hectic schedule to visit Strathfield Library and present their Dog Safety Program. This is quickly becoming a series of talks following a successful ‘Responsible Pet Ownership’ Program during a previous visit to the library.

Participants ranged from curious Kindy’s and hooked high schoolers to conscious caregivers and amused adults. The audience were enthralled with all the new knowledge despite many non-pet owners as the information will come in handy should they be faced with canines in public, a very likely siutation.

Following the talk, Rusty went browsing for some light reading, forgetting that he left his library card at the office!

Hmm, where's the 'RSPCA Tales?!'

You smile, so I smile

A core message of the RSPCA NSW ‘Dog Safety’ Program involves getting participants to realise that many of the emotions we feel as humans are simlar for our animal friends, though expressed in vastly different ways.

It was great to see children at Northmead Early Education Centre being supported to come to this realisation during a recent visit by Education Officer, Eva. As part of the program, children were introduced to the world of dog body language and how an understanding of these concepts will help to keep them safe when interacting with our canine companions.

The children and staff had come to a different realisation previously: that the animals at RSPCA NSW needed their help! So the Centre held their very own Cupcake Day fundraiser prior to organising the Education visit.

Thank you to the staff and children at Northmead Early Education Centre for now being able to stay safe around dogs and helping those animals at RSPCA NSW.

If you or a group you know would like to be part of the ‘Dog Safety’ revolution, please contact the RSPCA NSW Education Team on 9782 4460 or education@rspcansw.org.au

Happy!!

Angry!

Scared...!

Supportive :)

Rising to the occasion: Part 2

RSPCA NSW deal with some shocking and upsetting stuff everyday so it’s a wonderful when something brings a smile to their faces and smile they did upon receiving a special something!

Remember that amazing Year 3/4 class from Rosehill Public School? Well not only did they delve into the world of animal welfare but they took it a step further and decided to help the animals who temporarily call RSPCA home.

Two students were inspirated to do some fundraising and created their very own magazine to sell and collected all the proceeds. Along with a disco the Year 3/4 class organised, they had an excellent ‘kitty’ built up, so what did they do with it? Go on a crazy spending spree buying all sorts of treats and toys for the Shelter animals! See some pics below of our Shelter dogs absolutely LOVING their new toys!

 And the generousity didn’t stop there, do you recall those colourful things from the photo? Well each student class took the time to create a ‘thank you’ card for all the staff at RSPCA. The message inside told us of the students’ belief about animals and a thank you message for all the hardworking people at RSPCA.

So who exactly received these wonderful creations? Keep your eyes peeled as we explore RSPCA NSW from the inside and thank as many people as possible with the lovely 'thank you' cards!

Thanks Rosehill Public for making our day J



Gimme, gimme toys!

Fetch Bella!

Good sit Banjo!

Fun times ahead Jack!



Bring it back Dolly!



The students who rose to the occasion

It started with a topic, ‘people and their beliefs’ and a Year 3/4 class at Rosehill Public were faced with the daunting task of exploring what society believed about animals . They stumbled upon local issues including the use of exotic animals in circuses and jumps races and had to decide what their personal beliefs were.

Into the picture came RSPCA NSW Education in the form of Education Officer, Eva, to give the class RSPCA’s perspective on animals and what they believe as an animal welfare organisation. The class were introduced to animal cruelty from the eyes of those who deal with it on a daily basis and began to witness the gap between how they personally would treat animals and the minimum standards set by law.

Discussion around the ‘Five Freedoms’ sparked thoughts around what animals should be afforded in life. Sure the basic stuff like food, water and shelter but howabout a chance to exhibit natural behaviours and avoiding situations which cause mental suffering? These were the quandaries for the day as the class were introduced to the world of the battery hen.

Even many adults are unaware of the issues and how they can help caged hens but one student came to the following realisation:

“So if everyone stopped buying cage eggs, the farmers with caged hens wouldn’t be able to sell their eggs and would have to change to free range?”

Spot on. The consumer has the most power when it comes to improving the layer hen welfare but it is up to them to use their powers for good and not evil.

This amazingly aware class did not stop there when it came to helping animals. Their awesomeness cannot be contained in this one blog entry so stay tuned to find out what else they did...


I wonder what they're holding there...