In the Community

"Be a Tree" Program

The doctors and staff of Bayview Animal Hospital have implemented an educational dog bite prevention program in the Ottawa area. The session is being offered free of charge to elementary classrooms and is delivered by Dr. Hilary Mellor of the Bayview Animal Hospital. The session is designed for groups of 25-50 students from kindergarten to grade four. The length of the presentation can be adjusted to accommodate your needs.

The "Be a Tree" program is an innovative and interactive program created by the non-profit organization Doggone Safe. Children learn to read a dog’s body language and how to act safely around dogs by looking at large format photographs and by playing interactive games. The "Be a Tree" program is unique in its use of several different teaching strategies, its focus on physical activity and its emphasis on positive messages. The “Be a Tree” program empowers them with the knowledge they need to make safe decisions based on the body language and the actions of the dog and the situation.

The "Be a Tree" presentation will assist elementary school teachers meet the injury prevention education goals set out in the curriculum. The program also includes a set of suggested follow-up activities designed by teachers and related to dog bite prevention education that are consistent with math, reading and language components of the curriculum. These can be reviewed at the Doggone Safe website at http://www.doggonesafe.com/. For more information on the "Be a Tree" program, please visit the "Be a Tree" website at http://be-a-tree.com/

If you would like to book a session for your classroom, or have any questions we can help you with, please contact:

Karen Burton, Hospital Manager Bayview Animal Hospital 613-728-5852