PAWS Education Programs Back with In-person Learning at PAWS

and in Schools

After a nearly three-year break, the PAWS education team is offering Caring Creatures, PAWS for Cats and Dogs, Our Wild World, and Heroic Animal Helpers, designed to reach youth ages 5 through 13. We currently have room in all programs, and we welcome both scouts and non-scouts to participate and learn about a breadth of topics including pet care, sharing habitats with wild animals, and much more.

We have also been visiting many schools in Snohomish County through our Kids Who CareSM program, where students learn how to coexist with wild and domestic animals in their community and are motivated to take compassionate action for animals and the environment. We are covering topics ranging from pet overpopulation to spay-and-neuter, as well as human impacts on wild animals.

This summer, we are looking forward to once again offering both Preteen and Teen Workshops and will be hosting info sessions online in April. Last summer, we had great success through ten weeks of workshops focused on issues facing companion and wild animals with a heavy emphasis on service-learning to benefit animals in our communities.

Do you know a young person who would enjoy attending a program at PAWS? Send us an email to education@paws.org to get started.

To learn more about the PAWS Education Program, or to sign up for a program, please visit: paws.org/KidsEvents

Cover Story — continued

stressful for animals, and can lead to anxiety, depression, and other health issues. Foster care allows animals to live in a home environment, which can reduce nervousness and improve their overall well-being. Next, it increases socialization. Animals in foster care can interact with people and other animals in a home setting. This helps them develop social skills and learn appropriate behaviors.

Foster caregivers also provide individualized care to animals, including tailored training, exercise, and medical attention. This helps animals with special needs or medical conditions receive the care they require to heal and thrive. Animals in foster care often have a better chance of being adopted than those in a shelter. This is because they have the opportunity to develop social skills, receive training and medical care, and become more accustomed to living in a home environment.

Foster care helps shelters and rescue organizations increase their capacity to care for animals. By placing animals in foster homes, shelters can free up space and resources to care for other animals in need. Overall, foster care is a vital component of the animal welfare system, providing animals with the care, socialization, and support they need to find permanent, loving homes. PAWS places more than 2,000 animals in foster care each year, and we currently need additional volunteers to save even more lives – will you help?

To learn more about the PAWS Foster Care Program, or to join, please visit: paws.org/foster

Since the 1980s, PAWS has operated one of the largest emergency hospital and recovery facilities in the Pacific Northwest, designed to rehabilitate sick, injured, and orphaned wild animals and return them to their native habitats. It is the only center of its kind in Washington State equipped with immediate and continual veterinary expertise and services, 365 days a year.

We have stretched to meet the needs of wild animals in our region and are now at a critical point of capacity.

The new PAWS Wildlife Center in Snohomish has been designed to support specialized