In Phase III of naturoPETic’s business plan, an animal education camp for kids and their dogs will be opened. This facility will also serve as a no-kill foster home to provide food, shelter, and love to animals in need, while attempting to find homes for homeless dogs and cats.
NaturoPETic’s camp will combine the best aspects of a traditional overnight summer camp with an educational animal experience and special bonding time for children and their dogs. We will teach the young people how to properly interact with pets. The second greatest cause of pet shelter crowding is a lack of skill in training one’s dog. Puppies and dogs are frequently bought as gifts for kids, or as gifts for oneself, and then the pet is taken to a shelter because of uncontrollable behavior issues. People need to be trained on how to train dogs, and what better time to start than when the people are young.
When the kids leave camp, they will be fortified with confidence from our esteem building exercises, they will have developed socialization skills and hopefully made some new friends, and they will know how to be the “alpha” in their pet pack. They will have learned how not to confuse a dog, and how to create a better environment for all. The more people who know how to properly train a dog, the less dogs will be dropped off at shelters. They will be aware of animal issues and will hopefully leave as ambassadors for cruelty prevention.
At the camp, there will be activities for the children to do with their dogs. There will be pet-related crafting, creative food projects (recipes for both people and pets) during which we will foster an interest in nutrition and healthy cooking for humans and animals, a science lab, and plenty of outdoor activities. This camp will resonate the wisdom of the old Chinese proverb: “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”