Welcome to MG Kids!
Have a great story, a great work of art or a great idea to share? MorristownGreen.com encourages the participation of all of our readers, including our community’s children.
We welcome kids’ submissions of artwork, poetry, stories, news reports, feature articles and essays for the new MG Kids portion of our website.
Today, we feature a kids-eye view of Wednesday’s ice cream social for dogs and their owners at St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center.
Individual children, schools, houses of worship and children’s organizations can deliver or mail material for possible publication to Sharon Sheridan at MorristownGreen.com c/o St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 70 Maple Ave., Morristown, NJ 07960. Submissions and questions also can be e-mailed to MGKids@sharonsheridan.com.
Please include the young artist or writer’s name, age or grade, and hometown as well as a daytime contact phone number and e-mail address. Images of artwork should be e-mailed as a jpeg; original drawings should be on paper no larger than 8 1/2-by-11 inches.
And now… the first two entries:
Ice cream for dogs!
By Carl Hausman
MG Kids correspondent, age 9
Today, I am at St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center’s Ice Cream Social. It is an ice cream party for dogs. Weather: hot and sunny. Events proceed as follows:
At 6:30, I met a cocker spaniel named Penelope. Age 4, Penelope does therapy at nursing homes. She loves socials. She is going to like this, I believe. She likes other dogs and ice cream. Her owner is Linda.
I am meeting a shepherd lab. His name is Benny. He is half a year old. His owner’s name is Shannon. He also loves the social.
Jade is a beagle-Australian shepherd mix. She is 7 years old. She comes to every social.
Zoe is a mixed breed. She is 6. She is a therapist for a nursing home. Her owner is Stephanie Jones.
So that’s my first dogs. More’ll be squeezed in as I report.
This is a fundraiser. It is needed for the over 10,000 dogs they take in a year, some strays, some not, and the many things they do for them.
[Editor’s note: St. Hubert’s shelter actually cares for 3,000 to 4,000 animals a year, mostly dogs and cats, and is in the midst of an expansion to provide facilities for even more.]
Lily is a pit bull mix. She’s 6. She likes the social much and already ate her ice cream. Her owner’s name is Charlotte. She has a son.
The ice cream is great! I got a dragon tattoo, and I hope to experience this next year.
All dogs get along very well at the Ice Cream Social
By Alyse Jefferson
MG Kids correspondent, age 11
On Wednesday June 23, 2010, St. Hubert’s in Madison, N.J., had an ice-cream social for dogs and their owners! These socials raise money for St. Hubert’s; dogs and their owners came from all over to attend this social event. A wide range of dogs lined up to taste the delicious ice cream and wag their tails to great music.
Jessica, a representative from St. Hubert’s, told me some interesting facts about St. Hubert’s and the ice-cream social!
“At the ice-cream social all dogs get along very well,” Jessica said, “but in case there is anything going on we have dog monitors and volunteers who walk around to handle the occasional scuffle between the dogs.”
The event was laid out nicely to keep pets and pet owners’ alike cool. Bowls of drinking water were laid out to keep the dogs hydrated and doggy pools to make sure the dogs stayed cool on a very hot day. A variety of pets attended the event; English springer spaniels, Shih Tzus, shepherds and poodles were just a few of the breeds in attendance.
Jade, a 7-year-old Australian shepherd-beagle, frequently attends St. Hubert’s socials. “Jade and I come to every social,” says Jade’s dog owner. “She is always so excited to come here and see the other dogs.”
“I named her Jade because she has pure green eyes,” the owner added.
I found another owner to talk to about his dog. “Nina is very friendly and gets along well with other dogs,” says Nina’s owner Dave Mozes. “I don’t know, why but she is a little spooked out tonight.”
Mr. Mozes wasn’t sure what type of dog little Nina was, but he was pretty sure she was a Podengo, which is a Portuguese dog.
I went walking through the crowd one more time to interview another owner about their four-legged friend. “Rusty was just adopted and is new to the program,” says Rusty’s owner Dorothy George, “so he is a little nervous, but I am trying to get him used to big outings like the social.” Rusty is a mix and is 3 years old.
When Jessica was asked how many dogs were in the shelter she responded, “We house between three to four thousand animals, which are cats, dogs and other small animals.”
St. Hubert’s ice-cream social is a fun event for you and your dog. Visit www.StHuberts.org for more information on upcoming ice cream socials and to learn about ways you can support St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center.
OMG ALYSEEEEEEE . SHE WAS MY BFFL AT MY OLD SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!! IM SO CALLING HER TO CONGRATULATE HER
What a delightful new addition to Morristown Green.Com! This is such good experience for kids. It’s wonderful to see the story through their eyes. Well done! Thank you!