Kids get to learn at summit school upon awesome and lovable animal creatures in Animal day.
Recently, pre-school students from 1-5 years of age were given the chance to interact with small animals when a team composed of members of the Philippine Hamster Owners Society and JuanLove Pets came to their school. With the goal of educating the students and familiarizing them with the classification of hamsters and small mammals in our country together, the team was assisted by two young hobbyists: 5-year-old Rob Anjelo and 9-year-old Rachel Angela Diokno. Students enjoyed touching, cuddling, and carrying hamsters, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, and rabbits.
“We encourage them to start caring about the animals in their environment, to teach them how to interact [with them] properly…[The kids were taught that they] don’t need to approach [the small mammals] directly. All the animals have their own [ways] to defend [themselves],” said team member Emman Talucod.
The children were all interested to have their own pets and to start keeping small mammals together. They happily expressed their delight with the animals, sharing comments and anecdotes such as, “I didn’t know that some hamsters can’t bite and one is the fastest in the world,” and “We made a circle so the hamster inside the ball could roll over. I like it because it was fun.” One went so far as to seek the team’s help to learn how to care for the hamster the child had acquired. Best of all was this comment: “They’re not just yucky rats; they can be pets that you can love and cuddle and play with.” (With reporting by Emman Talucod; for more information visit www. facebook.com/PHOSociety or www. facebook.com/JuanLovePets)
This story appeared in Animal Scene’s May 2016 issue.
