Dogs put best paws forward

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By JULIA STAVITSKI

Date published: 10/22/2003

Club holds pet Olympics

At last Saturday's Olympics at H.H. Poole Middle School, Spike gave everyone in attendance a hearty hello with a long yowl.

"He wants everyone to know he's here," said Lisa Besceglia, a teacher at H.H. Poole.

Lucy, on the other hand, chose to greet other participants by trotting up to them and sniffing their rear ends.

These Olympics had gone to the dogs.

The Paws and Claws Club at the school was holding its third annual dog Olympics. More than 10 dogs of varying shapes and sizes--along with their student and teacher owners--attended the event.

Participants ranged from dogs that could fit in the palm of an adult male's hand to companion dogs, meant to help an individual go through their life. They sat, jumped and picked up tennis balls with gusto.

The Paws and Claws club was established by Besceglia and Leslie Cann, another teacher, who both cosponsor the group. Cann said their reason for establishing club the club was simple.

"We just like pets and animals so much," Cann said.

The club addresses such topics as healthy lifestyles for pets, medical precautions, spaying and neutering, training pets, and feeding and socializing pets. At each meeting a special event is planned geared to teach students not only about cats and dogs, but about other animals such as chickens and horses.

Saturday's festivities began with a costume contest, with some of the tiniest puppies dressed as babies and bumblebees, and others dressed as witches and pumpkins. Animals were judged by other members of the club based on originality, poise and creativity.

H.H. Poole student Christina Perez dressed her dog, Tucker, as a pirate. She said the idea came to her partly because of the red bandanna he was wearing when she adopted him. So she made him a pirate costume, complete with telescope and weapons.

"He looks good in an eye patch," she said as she adjusted the foil sword attached to his neck.

Originally, according to assistant principal JoAnn Baker, Besceglia and Cann thought only sixth-graders would be interested in attending meetings, but ended up finding members up through the eighth grade. Cann said this year about 20 students are enrolled in the club.

While many of the members have dogs that participated in last Saturday's Olympic games, Cann said that members have pets ranging from dogs and cats to hamsters and worm snakes. Additionally, Cann said having a pet is not a prerequisite to join Paws and Claws.

"Some of the students don't have pets," she said.

Stephon Myers is one of those students. While he doesn't have any pets, he said he hopes one day to have a rottweiler.

"I'm just a dog lover," he said.

To reach JULIA STAVITSKI: 540/374-5000, ext. 5764 jstavitski@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 10/22/2003