- Published:
- Monday, 31 August 2015
Two million primary school and kindergarten students across Victoria have now been educated in dog safety and what it means to be a responsible pet owner thanks to a landmark Victorian Government program.
Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford and Member for Oakleigh Steve Dimopoulos today joined East Bentleigh Primary School prep and grade one students to experience first-hand the interactive dog safety classes delivered by the Responsible Pet Ownership Program.
Victor and Victoria, program mascots and stars of the Responsible Pet Ownership’s website and tablet app, Pet Town, were also on hand, bringing the program’s important safety messages to life through song and dance.
Since 2000, the program has made 14,266 school visits and 18,207 kindergarten visits, this month achieving the milestone of having educated two million children in responsible pet ownership and safety around dogs.
More than 50 trained pet educators visit schools and kindergartens throughout the state with their suitability-tested dogs, using animated presentations and role play to ensure the program is both informative and fun.
The visits are supported by curriculum and resource packages to enable classroom teachers to further consolidate the program’s teachings.
In addition, the We Are Family component of the program educates expectant and new parents on the many advantages of allowing their child to experience the joys of having a pet in the family. We Are Family is free to all hospitals with antenatal programs and all maternal and child health centres.
The Responsible Pet Ownership program is funded through the Domestic Animals Trust from a $3.50 levy on dog registrations, a $2.50 levy on cat registrations and a $10 levy on all Domestic Animal businesses.
The program is equally well supported throughout metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria and has been so successful, it is now being implemented in New South Wales and South Australia.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford
“Thanks to this great program, two million Victorian children know what to do if they encounter a dog being aggressive and how to keep themselves and their families safe.”
“We’re making sure every child has the opportunity to learn how to be safe around dogs.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Bentleigh Nick Staikos
“It’s so important that kids learn how to be safe around dogs. This is an incredibly valuable program for the young students of Bentleigh.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Oakleigh Steve Dimopoulos
“For 15 years, the program has shared important dog safety messages in primary schools, kindergartens, maternal health centres and maternity hospitals in our community and throughout the state.”