As the new school year approaches, young readers are practicing their pronunciation, comprehension and adding new words to their ever expanding vocabulary. A local animal shelter is arguing there’s no better way to motivate them through the challenging learning curves than with a few-month-old kitten, curled in their lap in silent support of their literary advancements.
This was 7-year-old Finnley’s reality on June 20 when his mother, Michelle Duncan, a 31-year-old veterinarian, brought him to the Humane Society of North Central Florida. The shelter was hosting one of its new educational programs, Purrs & Tales, held from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday through Saturday.
Finnley loves to read graphic novels, his favorite being “The Legend of Zelda” comics. Finnley’s dad promotes his reading with 10 to 15 minutes of practice a day.
His time reading to the cats of the humane society was well spent and rewarded with each kitten that purred into his hand.
Purrs & Tales began this year on June 18 and will continue until Aug. 8, with plans to continue during the school year.
It is a free event with books provided by the humane society’s Thrift Store. Not only does it help kids practice reading, but it also helps the animals get human exposure and increases their chances of adoption.
Over 100 animals were adopted from the shelter in June. Many were dogs that came to the humane society with serious medical needs and spent months in its care receiving treatment, healing and support from the community, the humane society said on its Instagram.
Each month, HSNCF celebrates all its adoptions and posts a picture of its adoption board, which lists the name of each adoptee. The recognition serves as a warm reminder of how “every adoption changes a life, not only for the pet going home, but also for the next animal who now has a place at our shelter,” according to the Instagram post.
Finnley, an elementary student, already has a cat and a dog at home and has no more room for another pet. His interaction with the young kitten, “Katie Perry,” showed off her cuddly personality.
But even though they can’t adopt, his mother said they hope to spread the word so more cats can be adopted after seeing their personalities bloom.
Duncan graduated this past Spring from UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine. She now practices at Trenton Animal Hospital.
She completed her externship with the humane society, having also volunteered with Operation Catnip.
Saturday’s event helped kids practice their reading, work on their animal-handling skills and get excited about being involved with their shelter, she said.
“It is good to get the community involved with everything animal rescue and adoptions related,” Duncan said.
Isabella Lentine, the events, education and outreach coordinator for the shelter, has worked with humane societies for over three years. She’s now spent about two years at the North Central Florida location.
A big part of Lentine’s role is outreach.This year, the humane society is implementing several new educational programs in an effort to involve the community.
Many of the programs are aimed at the community's young learners, she said, offering field trips for schools to see the center and opportunities for the humane society to visit schools.
The shelter is also working to involve local Girl Scout troops and summer camps, with more ideas still in the works.
Lentine said the humane society wanted to find ways to engage younger kids at the shelter.
“It was to mainly get more of the community into the humane society while promoting learning initiatives and education,” she said.
Like Duncan, Lentine also wants more people to learn about animal welfare and the shelter world. She hopes to invite people who have never been to a shelter in hopes they want to become an adopter, volunteer or foster.
Purrs & Tales is one way to give kids their dog-and-cat fix while encouraging them to read. Seeing kids fall in love with the animals at the humane society is a sweet reward for Lentine.
For the cats at the HSNCF, just 30 minutes to an hour around kids gets them out of their shell, Lentine said. Their interaction can make the cats and children more confident and comfortable, as they can sometimes be nervous.
“The small wins of seeing a kid come in and being scared of cats, to then leaving wanting to adopt one is just a really great feeling,” she said.
Kids can pull on tails and poke animals in the eyes, which is good for cats and animals alike to learn how to be around each other and coexist,” said Lentine.
Lentine is excited for all the upcoming programs to bring light to their shelter. The humane society runs on community support, and with more outreach to come, Lentine hopes to see the HSNCF grow.
Emily Medina-Finsen is a contributing writer for The Alligator.
