Humans aren’t the only ones heading back to School and off to College. Class will also be in session for some furry 4-legged friends. Three dogs from the Humane Society of Cambria County are going back to school this year thanks to a few College Students who will be fostering them.
Midnight, Vicky, and Bellwether, all pitbull mixes, were residents of the shelter, but now they have a new home at Saint Francis University for the semester. The dogs are being fostered with students in the canine learning and behavior program, which is part of their psychology courses.
Sarah Oldham, Operations Director Humane Society of Cambria County saying: “The Students are preparing for a career path that might very well involve dogs. So, they are learning how to train the dogs and the dogs will attend class with them.” While at school, the Students will get experience with taking care of and training the dogs. The dogs will gain socialization experience with both dogs and other people and will learn all basic commands and a few new tricks.
Oldham saying: “They are all being trained and they will earn their canine good citizen award, which is really awesome. We sent one dog out, Miss Vicky, a sweet little pitty mix, and she does some tricks already.” While the dogs are only being fostered for the Semester, the Humane Society of Cambria County hopes that they will all find forever homes later this year. Oldham adding: “At that point, if someone from the campus, whether it’s their handler, a roommate of the handler, or someone that works on campus falls in love with the dog, they will be eligible to adopt them. So, our goal is that all three are adopted.”
After this semester, the Humane Society hopes to continue this program with Saint Francis, or even other colleges and universities. Oldham, in closing: “It’s an awesome program. I know we’ll always have dogs that meet the requirements because we always have dogs here. I know this spring they’ll be looking for kittens. So, I’m hoping we can get some kittens involved in the program.”
Saint Francis will be holding a Graduation Ceremony for the dogs after they complete their classes at the end of the Semester.
