GARFIELD PARK — A program that brings well-trained dogs to local schools is working to destigmatize certain breeds, teach students how to interact with big dogs and promote compassion toward all animals.
Canines 4 Kindness held an educational event last week at Laura S. Ward Elementary School, 646 N. Lawndale Ave. The interactive session featured two of the program’s American bully breed pit bulls doing tricks and following commands to showcase their less discussed nature of being patient and playful.
These breeds are prevalent on the West Side, and they have a polarized response among neighbors that the program hopes to change, said Jeff Jenkins, Canines 4 Kindness founder and dog trainer.
Many students on the West Side are more intimidated by dogs than in other communities, potentially due to negative experiences with stray dogs in the neighborhoods, Jenkins said.
Jenkins said that when his pit bulls — Rickie and Bobbie and the deceased Lola, who inspired the program 20 years ago — are brought to schools and youth groups on the West Side, they typically provoke two reactions.
“Some people would recoil in fear, and other people would get really excited. Then the moment they saw her jumping through the hoop or jumping in my arms and licking me, … the kids would flood into the [stage], and the first thing they wanted to do was meet Lola,” Jenkins said.
At Ward Elementary, pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students watched in awe as Jenkins led Rickie and Bobbie through a series of tasks, including jumping through hoops of various sizes, sitting on a stool and waiting and running through obstacles. Throughout the program, Jenkins educated students on how to interact with dogs as well as building trust and reading body language when approaching a new dog.
“When their tail is wagging and their tongue is out, that is a happy dog,” Jenkins told students.
Jenkins also educated students about recognizing other situations, such as identifying fear when seeing a dog with a tail tucked between its legs.
Amarion Champ, a fifth-grader and Homan Square native, was selected to participate in the program. Despite previously only having interactions with smaller dogs, Champ held up a hoop for Bobbie to jump through. His family owns a shih tzu.
“I feel like the program was very awesome, and I was very happy to go on the stage, even though I was a little bit scared because I never been around” big dogs, Champ said.
After the day’s program, Champ believed his classmates were more at ease around large breeds.
“I feel like if they see one in their neighborhood, or if their neighbor has a dog like that, I feel like that won’t be scary to them anymore,” Champ said.
Shenann Finley-Jones, Laura Ward Elementary’s principal, said having the Canines 4 Kindness event fits well with the school’s goal of promoting social and emotional learning. The program is facilitated through Communities in Schools of Chicago, which pairs local schools with enrichment programs.
“We talk about being kind not only to each other, but to animals and just our community,” Finley-Jones said. “During the performance, students are learning and engaged at the same time, so that they don’t realize they’re learning about how to be kind to their friends and how to be kind to animals.”
Canines 4 Kindness started in 2005 as a program for Illinois youth corrections facilities. Since then, Jenkins started the Lola Foundation, dedicated to his initial pit bull, and regularly leads programs at schools across the Chicago area. For more information, visit canines4kindness.org or its Instagram.
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