10 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday January 13, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Pet of the Week People and pets need kindness ggression toward animals is a serious problem and cruelty to animals has been scientifically linked to cruelty to people. Education plays a key role in prevention of both. The Oakville & District Humane Society (ODHS) Community Services deliver humane education classes to over 5,000 Oakville students a year. Positive humane/animal relationships are promoted throughout a variety of in-class sessions that include teaching students about pet care, wildlife, breeds, and the impact of technology and urban life on animals. The ODHS recently added The Patch Challenge to its education curriculum supporting the People and Animals Together Create Harmony message. "People are gradually realizing the way we treat our animals is mirrored by the way we treat each other," said Johanne Golder, ODHS executive director. "Part of the Society's mission is to promote positive relationships. If we teach this message to the young, then they are more likely to retain this behaviour throughout their lives." Dr. Randall Lockwood, Vice President of the Training Initiatives of the Humane Society of the United States, author of Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence, and Assistant Professor of Psychology, has examined the connection between animal/human cruelty. Lockwood described the need to deal with problems of violence "against people, against animals and against the earth itself...a A PATIENTLY WAITING: Princess is a beautiful German Shepherd who is still waiting for a family to take her home. She would like a family with no other pets and Shepherd experience. For more available animals, visit the Oakville & District Humane Society (ODHS) website at www.oakvillehumane.ca. · C A R P E T · O R I E N TA L R U G S · V I N Y L · H A R D W O O D · C E R A M I C S · C A R P E T · C E R A M I C S · C A R P E T · O R I E N TA L R U G S · V I N Y L · H A R D W O O D · C E R A M I C S · C A R P E T · O R I E N TA L R U G S C C E R A M I C S · C A R P E T · O R I E N TA L R U G S · E R A M I C S · C A R P E T · O R I E N TA L R U G S · V I N Y L · H A R D W O O D DON'T PAY TIL' JUNE/2007 CARPET In-Stock Colours Only THICK BERBER E only $1.99/sq. ft.* l LUXURIOUS U NYLON TWIST YL T ol only $2.99/sq. ft.* Installation and Underpad INCLUDED major focus of all compassionate people." Within the psychiatric community Lockwood noted animal abuse is identified as an indicator of conduct disorder and is one of the symptoms with the earliest onset. People who are cruel to animals for a sense of power and control often flaunt that cruelty as a way of shocking others and bringing them under control. The source of this action may stem from an anger management problem, sado-masochistic miswiring, or an example that has been set in an abusive family. A study by Lockwood on how pets were treated in child-abusing families found that in two-thirds of those families there were incidences of animal cruelty. Similarly, studies have shown that women coming into women's shelters to avoid abuse had animals at home that were also being abused. It is often an agent of an animal control agency or humane society responding to a call, who is the first to realize a family is in need of social service intervention. Agents and Inspectors for the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) receive extensive training on how to recognize and prosecute animal cruelty, and work with other social agencies when they believe other forms of abuse are taking place within a home. Most humane organizations offer programs to assist families leaving abusive situations. "Humane organizations have worked hard to increase awareness that animal cruelty should not be viewed in isolation," added Golder. "We are beginning to see animal abuse as not only an animal welfare issue, but as a serious concern for human health and safety. Education is critical to prevention." Lockwood summarized the importance of education by identifying that, "If (humane organizations) are working to help people appreciate the needs of others, to teach empathy at the earliest possible age, to teach people to enlarge their circle of compassion to include individuals of other cultures, other races, other species, I think that is one of the biggest steps (humane organizations) can take against violence." With education playing such a critical role in the prevention of cruelty to animals and humans, the ODHS welcomes the opportunity to bring its message of kindness to the community. School teachers interested in scheduling a class visit or looking for more information about the humane education programs being offered through the ODHS, are asked to contact Community Services Coordinator Heather White at 905-845-1551. If you are concerned about the welfare of an animal in your community, contact the ODHS at 905-845-1551, ext. 12. 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