On the last day of class for Humane Society of Sedona’s Kids & Kritters Spring Break Camp group, the children were all ready to graduate with honors. The three campers — 8-year-old Lindsay Carroll Peterson, 7-year-old Zen Polansky and 10-year-old Sarah Williams — needed to remember some rules before going to see the shelter cats. Not a problem.
They knew to be calm and sit down. Let the cats come to them. Don’t grab the animals. The reasons for the rules are also on the tip of their tongues: So they would be safe and avoid scratches or bites from scared pets.
Events Coordinator Sarah Porter announced they were ready to go, the kids started running toward the door. Their high-pitched voices filled the room.
“Usually Zen is allergic but he is so excited his mom gave him extra medicine so he could see the cats today,” Porter said.
Excited is an understatement. The same goes for Peterson, who showed off her name tag, on which she drew a kitten and wrote “Cat Kid” next to her name “because [she is] a kid and [she loves] cats.”
However, the kids were unexpectedly calm when they finally arrived at the cat lounge.
“One of the things that I really enjoy is on the first day they are very wild — what you saw was very toned down,” Porter explained. “And by Friday, by the end of the week, they know all the rules.”
Indeed, the group was very respectful to Sprocket, the orange cat who greeted them at the door, and was careful so that he didn’t run out of the lounge or try to get in another cat’s room. “He’s an escape artist,” Polansky told a volunteer.
A kitten had just been rescued by the shelter, so the kids obviously wanted to see it. They carefully sanitized their hands before going in the room to meet Everest, a little grey and white cat. Porter let them give the animal treats and they knew exactly what to do. “Flat hand!” Peterson said, showing off the right way to offer Everest food.
The spring break group was a small one, especially compared to the summer classes that usually get 20-plus campers.
“It is the first one that we have done and it didn’t get an overwhelming response, probably because there really isn’t something like these. There is a lot of summer camps, but there is no spring break camp — no spring break activities,” Porter explained. “So, my guess as to why we got such small numbers is because they weren’t looking for something like this, they didn’t realize it was here.”
Porter said she is hopeful the program will grow next year and, if that growth hinges on the kids telling their friends about their experience, then there is nothing to worry about.
“They learn compassion for all creatures, they learn how to approach animals, how to be safe around animals,” the HSS volunteer said. “We learned about snakes and tarantulas and scorpions.”
Volunteer Katie Rodriguez, 13, who graduated from summer camp in 2018 and was helping with the first-ever spring camp, made a face when she heard that. Porter mentioned that, during her camp, there were no scorpions.
“No, we did have a scorpion!” Peterson interjected. “It was cool, I held little Kelly.”
Little Kelly was a giant desert hairy scorpion — Peterson remembered the “desert” part, Rodriguez helped her with the full name. When asked if they were afraid of the scorpion, they were quick to deny, almost as if they were offended by an outrageous question.
“No!” Peterson replied. “Because I trusted the person that had them.”
Although all the kids say their favorite part is the pet visits and getting to play with the different animals, it is clear how much they pay attention to the lectures as well.
“I can’t see his claws, do cats have retractable claws?” Polansky asked while he played with Everest.
“Yeah,” Peterson said.
What else did they learn?
“To not be loud with them. To not be mean to them,” Peterson offered.
“I learned not to pet kitties’ bellies,” Williams added.
When the time came for them to leave Everest and go back to the room, the disappointment was clear. Not even the idea of going to get Graham, a chihuahua who had become their companion over the week, was enough to make them want to stop playing with the kitten. The three are, after all, cat people.
“I like cats because they snuggle,” Peterson explained.
“Yeah, and they’re calm and sometimes they like to play,” Williams added.
After a few complaints and a promise to go back later, the kids followed Porter out of the room. They washed their hands and went to get Graham, whose room door was adorned with a colorful poster showcasing all his qualities.
“They really loved him and so they made a poster about him. All the things — why he’s such a wonderful dog,” Porter said. “Because, in their situations, they can’t have that dog right now but they really want him to have a family, and so they learned about that, why it’s so important to adopt shelter animals and the difference between just getting a breed animal and saving a life.”
Back in the camp room, the group started working on one of the last activities of the week: Making a bed for one of the animals in the shelter. They picked favorites during the week, and it shows, so Graham, Everest and Sprocket are all getting new beds. Perhaps it was also a way for them to see the pets one more time before graduating and having to say goodbye.
The Humane Society opened registration for the Kids & Kritters June Summer Camps. The week-long sessions are for kids between the ages of 7 and 12 and will be held Monday to Friday, June 3 to 7, June 17 to 21 and June 24 to 28. Classes are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the shelter’s educational center, 2115 Shelby Drive in Sedona. To register, call 282-4679 or visit www.humanesocietyofsedona.org and click on “Events.”
