YY Litter, 40 Days Old, Visits Holy Name School Kindergarteners
5/18/23

Lots of bustle this morning – feeding the pups early so they’d digest before we headed to Holy Name School, then caring for all the big dogs, changing clothes and loading the pups so we could get there before 8:30.  By the time we got there I felt like I’d already put in a day’s work!

The forecast was for a nice day, but it looked like rain and was quite wet from yesterday’s rain.  We had planned to be on the grassy playground but denied we’d better stay on the asphalt.  We got the kindergarteners to sit in a circle, then brought out the toys and, finally, the pups.  Oh, my gosh, what a fun time all of us had!  I took over 700 photos and can hardly wait to edit them to see how many fantastic interactions came out clear and sharp.  Emily, the teacher, told the kids to keep their butts on the ground and they did really well, though the boys on one “side” of the circle somehow kept scooting closer until there was no room for pups and we’d have to make them scoot back. 

The pups were fantastic with the kids.  Dogs don’t like to be held on their backs, like you do human babies, but all the pups put up with the kids holding them that way.  For the pups, this was a perfect lesson in accepting restraint. I was very impressed.  The kids passed pups back and forth and the pups just stayed limp and hung out with whoever took them. 

One of the girls is from Viet Nam and had never been around dogs.  The only way she will read to or pet Spirit during our weekly Reading Dog sessions is if Spirit holds totally still and doesn’t move towards her (VERY hard for Spirit to do!).  Today we were excited to watch her act like the other kids, holding and petting puppies and saying, “This one LOVES me!”

My two helpers, Peggy & Linda, were kept very busy catching and returning pups who escaped the circle.

The pups lasted about 50 minutes before they started showing signs of wanting to leave the kids and find a nap spot.  We had the kids stay in their circle while we loaded pups, then let them gather up the toys and say a last good-bye.

Emily, the teacher, told me tonight that the kids played “puppy” all day long and talked about the puppies the whole day, too.  They were a great hit!