SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
National Dog Bite Prevention week is May 15-21 and the Children’s Dog Bite Prevention Charitable Fund based in Nevada wants to help teach children in the Silver state how to avoid getting bitten by a dog.
The group is donating 148 copies of the DVD “Bow Wow Ow!” to Nevada Elementary Schools to support school-based dog bite prevention programs.
The DVD is designed to help teach children how to be safe when they’re near dogs.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs every year in the United States,” said retired veterinarian Dr. Ron Anderson. “Of those bitten, approximately 800,000 receive medical attention with some who require more intensive treatment if the bite becomes infected.”
Originally produced as a video designed to appeal to children in grades K-3, “Bow Wow Ow!” has been transferred to DVD’s to facilitate distribution to a new group of school age kids.
The Children’s Dog Bite Prevention Charitable Fund was organized in 1998 to develop a school based dog safety program in Nevada. The group received grants from the Nevada State Legislature and State Farm Insurance Company to develop educational materials and to produce an 8-minute animated live action teaching tool.
The produced video addresses more than 12 common situations where children could become a dog bite victim and illustrates the proper behavior they should use to avoid being bitten.
The updated DVD format replaces the videos originally distributed to Nevada schools in 2003.
“Bow Wow Ow!” and its accompanying educational materials have been adopted for use by a variety of educational facilities in 29 U.S states, British Columbia and the Galapagos and Virgin Islands.
The Nevada based Charitable Fund hopes to take a bite out of the number of dog bite victims in the Silver state.
A free download of the program educational materials is available at www.BowWowOw.com .
Educational materials in the free download are:
- A Lesson Plan
- Fun Pages from the activity booklet (in both English and Spanish)
- A printable Certificate to reinforces DVD teaching points
“Dogs are man’s best friend and if children learn how to interact with them properly at a young age, they can enjoy dogs all their lives,” Eileen Gay, WAAAHOO animator and “Bow Wow Ow!” co-producer said.
The creative mix of animation and a real-life setting in “Bow Wow Ow!” hold children’s’ attention and it helps them remember key points to preventing dog bites. The video won a “Telly” (the non-broadcast equivalent of an “Emmy”) in 2004.
For more information or to purchase the DVD visit www.BowWowOw.com , contact Eileen Gay at 775-688-6278 or e-mail [email protected].
