Community Veterinary Services
Pet Awareness with Students (PAWS)
Mississippi State University is laying an educational foundation for future pet owners. Pet Awareness With Students, or PAWS, is a pilot project initiated by two former Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students and MSU-CVM clinician Dr. Jody Ray. The two students were pursuing a Master's in Veterinary Science with an emphasis in Public Health in MSU's dual-degree DVM/MVSc program. Dr. Jody Ray has played an instrumental role in the PAWS program, providing the guidance, leadership and involvement necessary for PAWS to succeed.
The goal of this program is to educate children and expose them to veterinary medicine. The program currently provides age-appropriate lessons for children from kindergarten through sixth grade. Children are exposed to such areas as the basics in veterinary care, animal behavior, and proper pet handling. Of particular importance is educating children about zoonotic diseases (those diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans). The scope of this program is being expanded for the future inclusion of additional schools and age groups. Short assignments are given to the individual classes to reinforce the important concepts from each lesson. Providing one class weekly, the PAWS program has been well-received by the area schools. If you are interested in having this program at your school, please contact Dr. Jody Ray at 662-325-3432.
