In an effort to educate students on recently enforced laws regarding pets and proper animal care, Sandie Betz-Eisenberg, a representative from the San Pedro Saga Humane Society, visited the New Horizon Seventh-Day Adventist School (NHSDAS) on Thursday, May 5th.
Over a hundred students gathered at the school’s chapel, ready to listen and learn. Accompanied by her son Spencer, and their foster dog “Lucas”, Eisenberg elaborated on the newly enforced leash law.
Effective January 1, 2016, the law requires that all dogs six months and older must be leashed and have a proper, humane collar for identification, by order of the Belize Dogs Act Chapter 153 Revised Edition 200 and the San Pedro Town Dog Control Orders of 2012. Dogs must be restrained on private property by a fence, tether, or leashed in a humane manner. Dog owners are required to keep their dog on a leash and under immediate control any time the dog is taken off their property and into the public.
For pets to be licensed, rabies shots are mandatory and are offered at Saga for $30. To license your dog, you must provide the following information: name, occupation, address number of dogs, and contact information, and the annual registration fee per dog is $5.
Saga isn’t the only one that promotes kindness and prevents cruelty to animals. Before furthering the discussion, members from NHSDAS’ Dog Club came forward and presented themselves to Eisenberg. The group, consisting of more than fifteen students, explained why they created the club.
“A long time ago, a dog use to come to our school, picking up sticks and hiding them. We wanted to help the dog, so we held a cupcake fundraiser to purchase dog food, and we gave her clean water, not knowing that she was pregnant. Later, we found out that she had puppies, and if we didn’t help that dog, the puppies wouldn’t have been born healthy,” said Robert Bradley.
The children also learned of the daily necessities that help dogs and cats grow and develop in a healthy manner. It takes a lot of effort to maintain a pet, as dogs/cats depend on their owner for everything: food, clean water, shelter, veterinary care, love, and attention. Pets also need to have medicine to prevent worms and other parasites, as well as flea and tick prevention and yearly shots.
The importance of spaying and neutering cats and dogs was highlighted to the youngsters. Spaying and neutering (snipping) is encouraged, to allow pets to live a longer, healthier life. The students had concerns, asking if the surgery was painful. Eisenberg eased their worries, explaining that there’s no harm in the process, as the animals sleep during the operation and don’t feel any pain.
The discussion also detailed the types of foods pet owners should avoid feeding their animals. Among the list was chocolate, onions, chicken bones, dairy products, sugary foods, and macadamia nuts. Many people are not aware of how these food items can harm their pets’ health and the students were certainly surprised.
After Eisenberg’s presentation, students were excited to answer her questions in return for goodies like rulers, pencils, erasers, and bracelets. All the students learned a valuable lesson from Eisenberg, “If you can’t adopt, foster. If you can’t foster, sponsor. If you can’t sponsor, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer, donate. If you can’t donate, educate, network, or cross post. Everyone can do something to help save a life.”
For more information regarding animal laws, or general animals questions, please contact Saga Humane Society at 226-3266.
Share
Read more