UBCS Going to the Dogs!
Have you ever tried to entertain more than 100 excited children on the last day of school? Easy…not by a long shot. Possible … apparently so.
Mr. Stolvoort,elementary principal at UBCS, invited “Doggie Days” to come join us on our special day. This amazing team of dog trainers brought their special friends to entertain and challenge us. They wove our school theme for 2007-2008 into their act and performed a program we will not forget.
In order to be successful we must learn to “be kind, be helpful and be obedient”. Bailey and his friends reminded us of those simple truths.
Dog trainers must be kind to their dogs. They must be patient and use lots of praise. God’s word tells us “a righteous man regardeth the life of his beast”. We should remember to treat our friends (two legged or four) as we would want to be treated. We watched the dogs dance, jump hoops, play ball and Frisbee, and even jump over their trainer’s heads. All the while they were praised, petted and given rewards. We were able to meet a fire rescue dog who kept us spell bound as he hunted for a hidden child from the audience.
Dogs enjoy working and they can perform many helpful tasks. Just as dogs are helpful, we should be helpful to those around us. We have all heard of obedience school. The trainers reminded us that their dogs would probably make mistakes but that was ok as long as they were listening to directions. We were mesmerized as many different breeds, from Border Collie to Labrador Retriever, performed the speed and agility course set up on the soccer field. The dogs ran through tunnels and jumped through obstacles, following the commands of their master. What a great reminder to us…we may fail, but what matters most is that we try to be kind, helpful, stay the course, and listen to the voice of our Master.