Humane Society welcomes kids for summer camp

The Humane Society and Shelter Southcoast has been having kids visit to learn more and interact with animals each summer for 12 years, and recently wrapped up their 2026 season. 

Each year, there’s four week-long seasons. This gives them opportunities for kids to learn more about the shelter. 

“It teaches them simple lessons about caring for animals and just how to be kind to them,” said Emily Wheeler, an animal caretaker and the one who runs the camp.

Each day has a different guest speaker for the kids.

On Mondays, the kids meet Joey, the two-legged dog. Tuesdays are when Devin Cloutier, the Dartmouth animal control officer, comes in to explain her job. She then turns into a clown and makes the kids balloon animals. 

Cody from Swift Serpents brings in a number of snakes and lizards in on Wednesdays. The kids even get to hold a 13-foot python.

“The kids, they love him because … they’ve never seen those animals before,” said Wheeler. 

Janice and David Baker bring their bees for the kids to meet. The two explain what bees do for nature and how important they are. At the end of the speech, the kids get to hold male bees, which have no stinger. 

At the end of the week, the kids visit a local horse farm and get to ride the horses, 

“They get to learn new things and they love it,” said Wheeler. 

She added, “It just kind of teaches them simple lessons about caring for animals and how to be kind to them.”

Wheeler added that at the end of camp, some of the kids will even come back to repeat camp or adopt a fuzzy friend.