The ARLGP Humane Education team is happy to offer educational programming to youth in our community. Programming can occur in our shelter classroom and/or external visits to local schools and classrooms.

Due to an overwhelming interest in our programs, we want to ensure our partnerships are a positive experience for students, staff, and animals.

If you are an educator looking to partner for programming, please read through the following expectations and guidelines. Don’t hesitate to reach out to our Humane Education team with any questions at education@arlgp.org

SAFETY & PROTOCOLS

School groups wishing to visit the ARLGP are expected to treat our animals, staff, volunteers and facility with respect and kindness. This entails following the directions and guidelines established by ARLGP staff to keep both visitors and animals safe at all times. Failure to adhere to safety guidelines, may result in dismissal from the current activity or termination of the partnership.

Teachers and chaperones play an integral role in educational experiences and are expected to address any student issues that arise while visiting the ARLGP or while an ARLGP educator is visiting your school. ARLGP staff members will immediately address behavior that directly has to do with the safety of a visitor or an animal in our care.

ANIMAL MEET & GREETS

Please note that our mission is to provide temporary care and shelter for stray, abandoned, confiscated, and relinquished animals. We do this by creating awareness and support for the humane treatment of all animals. The ARLGP is a Fear Free shelter, meaning all interactions with our animals are focused on minimizing FAS (fear, anxiety and stress). Interactions for students with our shelter animals is based on our shelter population and animal suitability. We cannot guarantee students will meet a specific type or number of animals, as our daily animals change as pets are rehomed.

SCHEDULING & CURRICULUM

School group visits to the shelter and/or outreach visits to your classroom can be scheduled based on our education department staffing availability. Visits are typically 60-120 minutes in length.

Visits to the shelter can be customized depending on the needs and interests of your group. They can include a tour of our facility, time with shelter animals, in-shelter volunteer projects (as available), and various lessons regarding animal welfare topics. Our lessons are created with a foundation of responsible pet care, kindness towards animals, and compassion for our community of pets and people.  Group visits are limited to 20 people total, students and teachers/chaperones.

Humane Education Curriculum includes, but is not limited to:

• Animal Body Language-this is the cornerstone of every visit and is tailored to meet your students’ ages/capabilities
• Importance of spaying and neutering
• Importance of Microchipping
• Breed Specific Legislation
• Animal Careers
• Declawing

If interested in scheduling a visit to the ARLGP, please fill out the form below:

School Visit Request Form

If interested in a Humane Educator visiting your school, please contact us directly at education@arlgp.org.

Please note that our shelter is open to the public every day 11am-4pm, except for Wednesdays when we are closed to adopters. Wednesdays are a great opportunity to visit the shelter when it is a bit quieter.