Pets In Need Action League

About the Program

"Canines with Class" is a Pets In Need Action League (dba P.I.N.A.L.) humane education program offered to 3rd-graders in elementary schools in Pinal County. Our team is a collaboration of P.I.N.A.L. volunteers, Animal Control staff from Pinal County and Casa Grande Animal Care and Control Agencies, and registered Therapy Dog teams. The cornerstones of the program are safety, responsibility and compassion, all aimed at cultivating the next generation of compassionate, thoughtful and responsible animal-caregivers.

Since the program's inception in 2009, Canines with Class has visited with over 8,800 students in several school districts throughout Pinal County, including Casa Grande, Stanfield, Coolidge, Florence, Apache Junction, Arizona City, Toltec and Picacho. Each approximately 45-minute session is designed to raise children's awareness of the need to treat animals with kindness and compassion. Responsibilities of caring for a pet are demonstrated to the students by comparing a dog's wants and needs to their very own, helping them relate not only to needs, but feelings that pets have. Safety is reinforced through interactive demonstration of (1) properly greeting a dog with an owner, and (2) safely handling a stray dog situation, which we've learned is a common occurrence on school grounds.

Jacqui and Mitzi explain the importance of I.D. tags to a student (left), and that our pets need food and water, just like us (right).

Ranger demonstrates a magnificent "Stay"!

Demonstrating how to "stand like a tree" and avoid eye contact in the presence of a stray dog.

Meet n' Greet

The highlight of the every Canines with Class presentation is, by far, the "meet 'n greet" session, during which students are given the opportunity to interact with registered Therapy Dogs and their handlers. This time gives students the opportunity to share stories of their pets, ask questions, and meet the dogs one-on-one.

Oh, the stories and questions . . . and, for some odd reason, the students have no problem remembering the dogs' names, but can't for the life of them remember those of their human companions!?

Breaking the Chain

At the conclusion of every presentation students are invited to take part in "Breaking the Chain", a PACC911 (Phoenix Animal Care Coalition) Educational Program that invites children to use their creative and problem-solving skills to complete a story about Joey, a fictional dog who lives his life on a chain. It is an integral part of our program, tying together everything we share, and designed to help children empathize and understand that, just like us, animals experience pain and loneliness. Ultimately, it teaches students about kindness and compassion for all creatures - animals and people alike.

We invite students to provide, in picture form, their vision of how Joey's story concludes with the help of a concerned neighboring cat, Harriet. The artwork is on display at Pinal County Animal Care and Control, 1150 S. Eleven Mile Corner Rd in Casa Grande. Stop by to view the imaginative and inspirational work of our future pet companions!