A New Dawn for the Education Team!

The Education Team has some great news - we are expanding! At the moment the team has three Education Officers: Fiona in Dublin and the East, Deirdre in the South East and Liadh in the South West. However, we are delighted to announce that we have a brand new Education Officer, Dawn Kavanagh, who will be covering the Clare and South Connaught region. Let's find out a bit about her.

 



 

 

Hi Dawn, tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi, my name is Dawn Kavanagh and I’m a bit of a mixed breed being Irish but with an English accent! I have a Masters in Animal Behaviour and Welfare, and am also a fully qualified secondary school teacher.

 

Why did you want to work for Dogs Trust?

Dogs Trust's philosophy of never putting a healthy dog down is something I really admire, and especially needed here in Ireland. I truly believe the key to improving welfare for all animals is education, and Dogs Trust education programme is doing just that. This really is a dream role for me, combining my education and animal welfare passions!

 

Do you have a dog of your own?

I do have a dog, a rescued Yorkshire Terrier called Katie. However she’s a little old lady at 14 and so is too old to come to workshops with me, and is currently enjoying all that retirement has to offer. I am hoping to give a Dogs Trust dog a new home soon, and so will be working with our Training and Behaviour advisor to adopt a dog who will be trained and then assessed to become the next Education Dog, so watch this space!

 

How have you found your first few weeks as part of the Dogs Trust Education Team?

They have been fantastically busy. I’ve been very lucky to have spent time with each of the Education Officers who have filled my head with great ideas about the workshops that I’ll be giving. I’ve really loved the reception that we receive when we go into schools and can’t wait to start visiting the schools in my area!

 

You will be bringing our educational workshops to a brand new part of Ireland. What areas will you be visiting?

I will be visiting the primary schools and community groups in Clare, Galway, South Roscommon and South Mayo in my bright yellow Dogs Trust car.

 

You helped man the Education Station at our Supporters’ Event at our centre in Dublin recently. How did you find the experience?

It was lovely to see so many supporters of Dogs Trust at the event. I got to meet loads of children who were all keen to be Responsible Dog Owners and was very impressed with the Poo Bag designs they made as part of our colouring competition! I also got to meet lots of adopted Dogs Trust dogs with their new families, which was lovely, and some of them helped me out while I was presenting our Responsible Dog Owner Quiz by barking in all the right places!

 

What are your plans for you Summer workshops?

I’m booked to give workshops in Claremorris, Ballinrobe and Kitimagh libraries in August, but as this is a new area for the Education Team I have lots of free slots for new bookings. It would be great to hear from summer camps and community groups who would like me to bring our fun, educational and FREE workshops to them.

 

 

If you would like to book a workshop with Dawn you can contact her on 086 832 3325 or at dawn.kavanagh@dogstrust.ie.

 

If you would like to book a FREE Dogs Trust Educational Workshop in your area this Summer, contact education@dogstrust.ie.