Tank goes to School

Every year I visit my husband's elementary school with one of the pugs and do a half day with different classes on canine education and bite prevention. This year I took Tank. I thought you might enjoy some of the photos of Tank the Canine Educator. Many of the children in this school are VERY new immigrants and many come from countries where dogs are things to be feared. It's always so great to see even the frightened ones warm up to my pugs.
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Tank looks so cute! Everyone looks like they are enjoying him so much!

Can you bring Tank to visit me?? And when did you get enough hair for a ponytail?

Amanda wrote:Can you bring Tank to visit me?? And when did you get enough hair for a ponytail?

I would bring him, Amanda, but you'd never give him back.

And I've been growing my hair out for about a year now.

That is just too darn sweet. My students (older) ask me to bring my boys all the time, but several years ago, the community adopted a law that prevents us from having dogs in the buildings. What a great thing that you could have Tank the teacher there at school!

Eph91 wrote:That is just too darn sweet. My students (older) ask me to bring my boys all the time, but several years ago, the community adopted a law that prevents us from having dogs in the buildings. What a great thing that you could have Tank the teacher there at school!

The only reason he can be there is that he is a certified therapy dog--because he is certified to go into nursing homes and hospitals and I've been through a level 4 police check--we are considered "safe".
Even with that, notes were sent home with all the children informing parents that a dog would be visiting their child's class room and the parents had to give explicit consent for their child to touch the dog.
It was kind of heart breaking as several children who did not have consent to touch Tank desperately wanted to.

That is heartbreaking! They must have been so sad to see their friends petting your sweet boy.

I did get to bring Emmet when he was a baby (before the rule was enacted. I get why the rule is there, it's just that it really used to be part of the school culture. We do have one dog who is an official employee--she gets to be in the building, and she is a sweetheart. Her "job" is scaring the many geese off the playing fields. I do bring my boys to games in the spring sometimes.

How sweet. Dogs are something all children should be able to enjoy. I have taken my pugs to my kids school on occasion, for a visit. Their school is very laid back, and even a few teachers bring thier dogs to school daily.

Amanda wrote:Can you bring Tank to visit me?? And when did you get enough hair for a ponytail?

Tank is adorable but when did you grow your hair? (Seems to be the main question tonight. )

Dalaran Dame wrote:

Amanda wrote:Can you bring Tank to visit me?? And when did you get enough hair for a ponytail?

Tank is adorable but when did you grow your hair? (Seems to be the main question tonight. )

Tucker decided to be brutally honest with me about my short spikey hair about a year ago. Told me I looked like a pencil with a bad eraser and that I looked better with long hair. So since I had short hair for several years, I went back to growing it out again. I've only just managed to get rid of all the different layers and lengths and able to pull it back into a ponytail.

I love the one with Tank slouching on the mat - looks like show and tell!

And I noticed your long hair too! Do you like it? I always get mine to about my shoulders and have the hardest time resisting the urge to chop it off again. Though, its never been as short as yours was. I love short hair - its so brave and free, but I totally don't think I can pull it off; my chin is too chubby!

Jen:
I grow it out, I chop it off, I grow it out, I chop it off. I've had it very long and very short. It's just hair to me so I do whatever I want with it. If the cut looks bad, it will always grow out...eventually.

I like the idea of long hair more than the actual long hair. and everytime I do grow it out, I ask myself why I did it since all I do is pull it back into a pony tail or wear it in braids. I'm essentially pretty lazy about my hair.

I had really long hair for most of Tucker's young years and then short hair for his teens. Now I'm back to the long hair (after him insulting my very funky short 'do).

I don't know who had more fun, you; Tank or the kids! Great pix Blanche! And such a shame for the kids who didn't have consent.

And I like you with long hair in a pontytail! (Says she who more often than not sweeps her locks into one too.)

And this, class, is called a Pug Slump. Can you all try and do a pug slump?

Priceless!

Lovely pics, Blanche. Tank really is a dear chap, isn't he!

Great pictures, Blanche! The kids love having a "dog" come to visit them in class. It's great that you and Tank are both certified to be able to get in there and do that.

I've taken Freddy Jones to Alex's school (pre-Toby), then the following year we took them both. His classmates loved them! A few of them will still ask about The Boys when they see me. I didn't even ask to bring them in this year. The teacher is Daryl's cousin's wife, and I know how she feels about dogs: strictly outside pets.

I was also wondering about the long hair. So you're saying I should I savor this time with Alex when he thinks his mom is the most beautiful woman in the world?! Of course, he's still brutally honest at times.......

This is awesome! You and Tank are what good pet ownership (or Tank owning you) is all about. I think that it is wonderful that you took Tank to school for education purposes. Thinking aboug how some kids have grown up afraid of dogs, I think that this is what pet education is all about. Beyond being afraid of dogs, there are probably so many kids that grow up seeing dogs in a cages, dogs tied up on backyards, and even dog fighting. If I won the lottery, I would donate $ towards pet education in schools. My heart just breaks for the kids that didn't get to pet Tank. Hopefully they can go back and educate their parents.

I love that you took an old pug too. That not only teaches them the value of a dog, but of an old dog.

Pugsavers wrote:I love that you took an old pug too. That not only teaches them the value of a dog, but of an old dog.

LOL, Roxane--in my home it's old dogs or nothing.

And Christy--the certification, to my mind, is irrelevant. the only thing the certification does is stop any of the folks who would bitch and whine about a "dirty dog" in the school.

Many of the children who weren't given permission to touch Tank are from Muslim countries where dogs are considered filthy--and culturally, you have to thoroughly wash after touching a dog. Many claim it's a religious tenet, but it's not. The reality is that rabid feral dogs are common in many third world countries and the prohibition of touching or requirement to wash after touching a dog makes all kinds of sense.

There was one little girl in a hijab who really wanted to pat Tank, but couldn't so we compromised and she blew him a kiss. I almost burst into tears.

northernwitch wrote:

Pugsavers wrote:I love that you took an old pug too. That not only teaches them the value of a dog, but of an old dog.

LOL, Roxane--in my home it's old dogs or nothing.

And Christy--the certification, to my mind, is irrelevant. the only thing the certification does is stop any of the folks who would bitch and whine about a "dirty dog" in the school.

Many of the children who weren't given permission to touch Tank are from Muslim countries where dogs are considered filthy--and culturally, you have to thoroughly wash after touching a dog. Many claim it's a religious tenet, but it's not. The reality is that rabid feral dogs are common in many third world countries and the prohibition of touching or requirement to wash after touching a dog makes all kinds of sense.

There was one little girl in a hijab who really wanted to pat Tank, but couldn't so we compromised and she blew him a kiss. I almost burst into tears.

It's sad!! My family always had cats growing up but we were the odd ones out, when a lot of my dad's friends would come over (Muslim), they would be horrified but they quickly realized they are part of the family. It's actually funny because now my dad's side of the family (who are pretty traditional) asks about the pugs and donate to the rescue-they have come a long way! It's definitely not a religious thing-but it's sad how it turns into that. Hopefully just seeing a dog close up is enough to help break down some barriers, a lot of the friends of my dad that came over really hadn't even been up close to a cat (that wasn't feral) before our house.