PHS/SPCA’s Service Ideas and Tips for Youth

What kinds of animals are cared for at the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA? The third grade Every year we take in over 13,000 animals. students at Belle This includes cats, dogs, guinea pigs, rats, Haven Elementary rabbits, hamsters, mice, parrots, iguanas, School baked and turtles, snakes, squirrels, raccoons, hawks, sold homemade dog biscuits (see songbirds, ducks, skunks, goats, chickens, recipe inside), pigs, sheep…even animals like monkeys! and donated the proceeds to PHS. What can you do to help? Collect and donate any of the items on this wishlist! You might get your classmates or Fundraising for Shelter Animals neighbors involved by making colorful Medicines, vaccinations, bedding, bowls and posters and bins for school or elsewhere. food for thousands of animals costs a lot of money! Every penny that you contribute helps. Here is what kids in our community have done:  Clean used blankets and towels  Old newspapers  Share a birthday with homeless animals.  New rope toys, hard rubber balls, Kids like Carly Foehr, Sophia Kazan and Kongs and Nylabones Charley Peebler asked their friends and  Nylon leashes, collars, and harnesses family to bring money or supplies for the  Unopened soft dog treats to use for animals instead of gifts for themselves. training classes  Organize a “penny drive” at your school  Tennis, golf, and ping-pong balls  Donate a portion of the profits from a  Large shoe boxes for cats to nap in class play, sporting event, candy sales  Booda Comfy Perches for exotic birds  Recycle cans and bottles for cash  Paper towels and toilet paper for nests  Plan a community car wash  Electric heating pads  Set up a lemonade stand or bake sale  Empty tissue boxes  Participate in humane society events like  Untreated wicker plate Mutt Strutt (a walk-a-thon with dogs) holders, heavy plastic toy keys and shower curtain Ten-year-old Lauren Gonsalves donated $73 to help the animals at PHS after saving her allowance rings for rabbits for over a year. Impressive!

1450 Rollins Rd, Burlingame, CA 94010 • 12 Airport Blvd, San Mateo, CA 94401 • (650)340-7022 • PHS-SPCA.org

photo: www.badrap.org Create a display Help inform others, without speaking a word! Most people want to be responsible animal guardians and kind to animals, but some may not know HOW to do so.

Make an educational display for your classmates, after-school group, or the public to teach about matters such as: preventing pets from getting lost; pet overpopulation and spaying/neutering; sparing animals from fights or performances; buying cruelty-free products; preserving natural habitats, etc.

Homemade dog biscuit recipe Did you know… you don’t have to cut up animals Make a batch of these cookies for your dog or for science class? California students have the the ones on your block. Or sell them to raise right to request alternatives to dissection. Check money for your favorite animal cause. out www.navs.org or www.humanestudent.org.

 2 cups whole wheat flour

 ½ cup cornmeal Animals… Cell phones…  6 tablespoons oil what’s the connection?  ⅔ cup water Cell phones are made using a substance called  ¼ cup peanut butter (optional) coltan. In African wildlife parks, coltan is being illegally mined, which in turn is harming Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Roll out to about gorillas and their habitat. Millions of old cell ¼ inch thick. Use cookie cutters or design your phones are thrown out every year and that’s own shapes. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or so. bad for the environment too. Allow to cool. Best if served within a week. You can make a Catnip Socks difference by participating Here is a simple toy to make for your cat, or in a free collection give as a gift to your friend’s cat. If you like to program for used cell sew, making “mice” from fabric is fun too. phones. Websites such as

www.call2recycle.org  Get a small sock (like baby bobby socks) will provide drop box  Put ½ tablespoon of catnip into toe of sock locations based on your  Add a ball of cotton inside the sock zip code. Donated  Tie the top of the sock in a tight knot phones are refurbished (if you tie thread tightly around sock instead, and resold or recycled. cut off the ends so kitty doesn’t get tangled)

This reduces waste, keeps hazardous materials Do your caged animals a favor! Give them big out of landfills, and conserves natural cages, safe toys, healthy treats and your attention. resources! Tell your friends.

Helping Wildlife Helping Exotic Animals Every year, the Wildlife Care Center at the Think once, twice, three times before bringing Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA receives an exotic pet into your home. These animals ~4,000 injured, sick or orphaned wild animals. have very special needs, and can get sick or even die young if not cared for properly. This baby raccoon was at our facility You can help by doing the following: because her mother  Don’t support the market for exotic pets was run over by a by buying one (learn about the suffering car. DO NOT involved in the trade of wild animals). throw food out of  If you do decide to care for an exotic pet, car windows—the adopt one from a shelter, rather than buy tempting leftovers from a pet store. Or call a reptile or bird may lead a hungry animal into danger. rescue organization. There are already millions of homeless animals at shelters across the country. Pet stores that sell What can you do? animals ADD to that problem.  Pick up litter and dispose of it safely;  Learn about what the animal’s life is like even loose balloons can be lethal in the wild. Can you create similar  Plant native flowers and trees living conditions for the animal in  Reduce, re-use, recycle! Put bottles, captivity? What does it eat, and how? cans, and paper in recycling bins; try to Does it live in social groups? What sort pack your lunch in reusable containers; of climate does the animal thrive in? rinse out and crush plastic yogurt cups; Where does it hide? How far does it cut through the rings of 6-pack holders travel, and how much space can you  Find humane ways to keep pests away provide? What is the animal’s lifespan?  Make a birdhouse for your yard  Keep your cats indoors Helping Farm Animals  Read, watch movies, search the internet Did you realize that over to learn more about wild species 10 billion farm animals  Leave healthy wild animals alone in the United States are raised for food every year? What is an “exotic animal”? Sadly, most are inhumanely An exotic animal is simply another country’s treated in terribly cramped wildlife. Common exotic pets include: iguanas, and stressful places. snakes, turtles, tortoises, parrots, frogs & fish. Farm animals need you! Exotic animals would  Eat meatless meals at least one day a week probably prefer to stay in  Learn about factory farms and where your meat, their natural habitat, which milk and eggs come from may be a rainforest, coral  Ask for “Certified Humane” food products reef, the wetlands or a  Buy clothing and accessories that aren’t made desert, rather than be stuck from animals in a cage or tank for life!  Get to know rescued animals at a farm sanctuary

LEARN and TEACH about animals! Start an Animal Club Search your library for interesting books and Students from Burlingame High formed an magazines about animals. Ask your teacher or Animal Rights Club at their school. Their librarian to display good books about animals, efforts include spreading awareness to the especially during Be Kind to Animals week student body about issues related to animals. early in May. (We recommend Lucky Me, a Members have participated in beach clean-ups children’s guide to animal companionship and to lower the chances of marine life becoming safety, by Christi Drue Dunlap.) Maybe you entangled or choking on garbage mistaken for can give a report on your favorite species or food. The club has also raised hundreds of share all the things you do to take excellent dollars for the shelter animals. care of your pet! Work together with a friend or a group, Check out these wonderful websites: and plan activities to help animals! Here are some things your club can do: www.phs-spca.org Your friendly local humane society   Create a newsletter about animals www.pleasebekind.com/candotohelp.html  Write an article for your school Actions you can take to help animals paper or a letter to the editor http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals  Set up a booth or table and share Fun facts about wild animals and pets information at special events www.sfbaywildlife.info  Make animal fact bookmarks for Wildlife watching in our area the school or public library www.kidsplanet.org  Ask animal professionals to Endangered species fact sheets come talk to your class and games (speakers may include: www.animalplace.org humane educators from News about rescued farm animals PHS/SPCA, a veterinarian, www.loveyourdog.com animal control officer, or A kid’s guide to dog care wildlife rehabilitator) www.rabbit.org All about caring for bunnies  Do an art project about animals www.rattieratz.com such as a mural, collage, or Resources for pet rats photography exhibit www.mickaboo.org  Display pictures of adoptable Companion bird rescue and care shelter animals at a P.T.A. http://animal.discovery.com/pets meeting or educational fair Info on aquarium fish and other pets  Organize a litter clean-up day at www.kindnews.org your school, local park or beach Humane magazines for K-6 classrooms  Explore issues such as the use www.phs-spca.org/resource/advice.html of animals in circuses & rodeos Useful tips about dog and cat behavior or in science fair projects. Discuss humane concerns and Why not create your own animal website? solutions with your classmates.

Share animal stories with your relatives and friends! Perhaps you could add a link to an Questions? Call the Humane Education animal-related site that matters to you. Department at (650)340-7022, ext. 369.