Puppies Teach Kids

By Carolyn Cothran

A couple of months ago, I received a call from a person in San Juan Cosala whose female dog had given birth to ten pups and the family couldn’t keep them. They were only three weeks old, and couldn’t be separated from their mom just yet. I volunteered to go out and vaccinate the mama, worm the pups and if they could care for them until they were weaned, we would take them.

When I went to the family home, I met this wonderful woman named Sharee. She teaches at one of the private schools in Ajijic. She was American and as we got to speaking, she told me she had this idea. Her students were just returning to in-person classes and the staff was looking for ways to inspire and excite the students. She wanted to bring the pups to her class, assign one pup per student and have them learn about the care, love and training of a pup.

I got to be with the students on the very first day! it was terrific. The kids loved the pups and the healthy, happy pups adored being in school. They went every single day for over a month! I vaccinated the pups in class, we wormed and flea treated them as well. All the while discussing the importance of sterilizing them.

Several weeks later, the pups came to live at The Ranch. Two are adopted by students and the rest are going to happy homes very soon. Oh, and Mama was spayed! Happy Ending.