My wonderful mother, Marlene Mark, a teacher at Howard T. Herber (HTH) Middle School, and her teacher's assistant, Mrs. Lisa Doughtery, have come up with a great way to help the Trinidad and Tobago Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TTSPCA) with managing the dogs at their shelter.
My Fulbright research in Trinidad and Tobago is on roaming dog populations: the causes for roamings, the diseases the harbor, and intervention strategies to reduce their population in Trinidad and Tobago. Marlene's students have been following my blog, www.halfbrightfulbright.blogspot.com since the start of the 2010-2011 school year. They have learned about my experiences withs stray dogs on the streets of Trinidad and Tobago as well as at the TTSPCA branches in St. James, Trinidad and Lowlands, Tobago. They wanted to be a part of the cause to help these animals.
Caring Collars, Loving Leashes is a campaign to donate collars and leashes to dogs that will be adopted at the TTSPCA. Why are collars and leashes important? Every dog that leaves the TTSPCA must have an ID tag that is purchased by the owner. If the dog has a corresponding collar, it would make the process a lot easier. ID tags are very important because many dogs are allowed to roam the streets and/or become lost each day. If the owner is known, the dog can be easily reunited. Often times, owned dogs in Trinidad and Tobago are tied to chains all day. They are seldom walked by their owners. Having a leash may encourage owners to take Fido for a spin around the block! This strengthens the animal-human bond, gives Fido (and owner) some exercise, and allows Fido to see the world outside of his yard in a safe manner!
