General News
3 August, 2023
Top dog for pet safety
STUDENTS at Derrinallum P-12 College were visited by a pet educator and their specially-trained furry friend as part of the Victorian State Government’s Responsible Pet Education Program.
STUDENTS at Derrinallum P-12 College were visited by a pet educator and their specially-trained furry friend as part of the Victorian State Government’s Responsible Pet Education Program.
The program was developed by the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources and provides all components free of charge to all Victorian primary schools and kindergartens.
Over the past year the program has visited 900 schools and 2200 kindergartens throughout metropolitan Melbourne and country Victoria.
A team of up to 60 educators working across the state has been providing this service for the past 16 years.
To date, over 13000 visits to schools and kindergartens have taken place which equates to in excess of 2,000,000 children and 360,000 kindergarten parents experiencing this program.
For school visits, pet educators bring their tested and trained dog to teach students in foundation to year six about safety around dogs.
Key lessons taught during the visit include:
• Importance of pet registration and microchipping;
• Signs a dog is aggressive, frightened or happy;
• How to safely approach and greet a dog;
• Times dogs should be left alone;
• Things you shouldn’t do with dogs; and
• What to do when faced with an aggressive dog.
Students were given the opportunity to put their dog-approach skills into practice with interaction with the visiting dog.
A spokesperson for the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources said the Victorian State Government firmly believed it has a civic responsibility to actively educate future generations to become responsible pet owners.
The program is funded out of a levy of $3.50 on each dog and $2 on each cat registration, which is collected by local government as part of the annual pet registration process.
Derrinallum P-12 College F-1 teacher Chloe O’Brien said it was important for students to be safe around animals in the community.
“It’s a really good skill for them to have; to be able to learn how to approach them, and just caring for them in a safe way,” she said.
“I think they just need to learn how to be safe around animals, so it’s a life skill we wanted them to have.
“The Preps obviously haven’t had that before, so it’s good for them to learn.
“For Prep to year six, safety-wise, it’s important; when they’re around animals everyday at the footy or at the netball. They need to learn for their safety.”