Thu, May. 26, 2005 / City of Toronto TORONTO -- An 18-month-old Yellow Labrador named K9 Cody has become a big hit in Toronto classrooms as he provides important lessons about dog safety. "K9 Cody's popularity makes it easy to teach children how to avoid being bitten," said Toronto Animal Services education officer Robert Meerburg. K9 Cody and Meerburg help elementary school children avoid bites by showing them how dogs behave. K9 Cody has visited more than 280 classrooms since replacing K9 Duke, who retired this year after 12 years of service and 3,000 classroom visits. "This is a good time to remind children of the do's and don'ts of being with dogs," said Meerburg. "During the summer months, children are outside playing and are more likely to come into contact with dogs." Meerburg's presentation covers the reasons why dogs bite, what to do when a dog comes near and how to approach a dog. It concludes with a dog obedience demonstration. Afterwards the children get to meet and pet K9 Cody. In addition to school visits, Robert and K9 Cody will be participating in a number of community events in June. Toronto Animal Services, a program of Toronto Public Health, also issues pet licences, provides pet adoption services and has shelters for lost pets. |