Best Friends is a program that was developed by the American Kennel Club to introduce proper care of animals to young children. I adapted the program for my own use and for the last 4 years, I have presented this program to all the Kindergarten and First Grade Classes in our school district. The following is the FIVE-DAY Program and how I made it work. Feel free to use this and the ideas from the AKC to teach care and loving of pets to the youth in your areas. Each day's class is about 30 to 40 minutes. And every day I bring my dog with me.

• Day One - I visit the classroom and bring my dog. First I bring all the children into a circle on the floor and I and my dog sit there with them. After we all introduce ourselves, then we start to talk about our Best Friends. Most of the children will tell me about their neighbor or a playmate. Then I tell them that my best friend is my dog. And I explain to them that we are going to learn about caring for our pets this week. I show a short video that the AKC provides about all the different things a dog can do. I give each child a picture to color and tell them it is to be about their favorite pet. While they are coloring I take each child and take a Polaroid Picture of them with my dog.

• Day Two - On this day I give each child a colored folder with their picture with my dog pasted on the front. Then our project for the day is to use pictures of dogs that were collected from Dog Magazines, and the children paste them on a work sheet, with sections for a DOG THAT NEEDS BRUSHED, A DOG THAT IS BIG, A DOG THAT IS LITTLE, A DOG THAT NEEDS LOVE, etc.

• Day Three - On the third day we visit the Library and I show them where to find the section of animal books. Then we pick a book (about dogs) and I read it to them. When I leave on that day, I give each child a bookmarker with a Dog on it.

• Day Four - The project for this day is a coloring page with four pictures: walking a dog, hugging a dog, feeding and watering a dog, playing with a dog. After the children are through coloring the pictures, they discuss what they would do first each day if it were their dog. I try to give all the children a chance to talk.

• Day Five - Graduation Day! I bring refreshments (snack called puppy chow and bone shaped cookies). We also talk about the correct thing to do when a stray dog shows up. How to prevent dog bites. And how to never pet a dog without the owners permission. I then give each child a Certificate for completing the class along with several coloring books that the AKC has provided and the insurance company that sponsors me provided. And on the last day they can take home their folder with all the dog pictures and information that I have given them.