About a dozen anxious pre-kindergarten students waited to meet Trixie, a friendly black Labrador Retriever.

Before the meeting, the children squirmed,

giggled, chattered energetically among

themselves, and awaited their guest with wide

eyes.

This special encounter at Park Avenue Enhanced

Option Elementary School was part of a program,

The goal of this program is to teach children the

needs and wants of animals to improve the

children’s relationships with animals and other

human beings.

Creature Care targets pre-kindergarten to second

grade children, and it launched the pilot program

on Jan. 15 at Park Avenue.

“Most of these kids do not have dogs, and they

have had very limited interactions with pets,’’ said

Deltina Braden, the principal of Park Avenue.

“If nothing else, I think that Creature Care will

teach the kids there is a proper way to care for

animals.”

Creature Care was launched on March 11, 2008,

and it is part of a larger, local foundation called

Lovie’s Legacy. Created in 2006, Lovie’s Legacy

began after Lovie Mae Smith passed away at 97

and left a large legacy to begin an animal welfare

program.

Lovie’s Legacy has two missions: first, to end

animal suffering by providing educational

programs to children, and second, to support other

animal welfare organizations. Since 2006, Lovie’s

Legacy has provided more than $30,000 to other public charities that offer animal rescue and medical

services.

“Programs like these extend beyond the classroom,’’ said Braden. “It teaches the children core values like

empathy and sympathy.’’