Image source: Laura Henry

By Julia Abernethy

Staff Writer

Over recent weeks, Hammond’s ALS students paired with the Art Club to create dog-themed artwork that will be displayed at the Howard County Animal Control Center in hopes that the decor will increase the likelihood that dogs at the center will be adopted. Ms. Laura Henry, a special education teacher at Hammond, decided to pair with the Art Club with a project for her students. She reached out to the Animal Control Center after reading an article that said animals were more likely to be adopted from places that felt more like homes to people looking to adopt. She thought that creating dog artwork to put up would help the center in ensuring that more animals get adopted, in addition to benefiting her students. 

The ALS students helped the shelter more than they had thought they would. “When we went, the officers were very receptive and happy that we had contributed to their environment,” Ms. Henry said. In addition, one of the paraeducators at Hammond, Lois Geyer, who helped the students with this project, adopted and brought home a dog yesterday, on June 12th. The dog is a six-year-old male beagle who came from a rescue situation with five or six other dogs. The student’s bus driver also filled out an application to adopt a kitten from the shelter. 

When the ball had just started rolling for this project, Ms. Henry explained that, “We had to think about our students’ abilities, they’re all different.” Little did she know that her students’ skills would help cause the adoption of many animals in the shelter. 

To start, each student created a dog themed piece of art to hang up in the dog visitation room at the center. Ms. Henry elaborated on the inspiration for this project, saying “One of the things that we really like to do is work with partnerships in the community.” Partnering with the Art Club at Hammond, along with the Animal Control Center seemed like a perfect project for the month. 

An important part of this project was the skills that the students acquired from the two-month-long process. Ms. Henry said, “I really think it’s all about just giving them some sort of independence and choice, I think some of the students may not have the ability to express themselves sometimes and I think that art is a really great way for them to do that.” She spoke about the independence that the students gained from working on their art because independence is a very important skill to have once the kids are out of high school and have graduated.

“I think another outcome is just bringing collaboration within the school and the community and giving them a sense of pride and enjoyment in their work.” Hanging their artwork up in the center will allow the students to look on and be proud of their art.

Ms. Henry says that the special education department loves pairing with the Art Club. “The Art Department is wonderful, they have been awesome to us all year!” Some of the students participated in past projects with the Art Club, like making favor boxes for their paint night. The students were allowed to use the materials provided by the Art Club to create their artwork to make it pawsitively perfect.

“The students are enthusiastic when they see our students in the hall so I think it’s a really good connection and Mrs. Rosenbaum is very willing to always provide whatever we need to support our students.” The collaboration with the Art Club creates a bond that will stay with these students fur-ever.