Church holds day for kids and animals

By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press 

First Presbyterian Church in Copperas Cove hosted their annual Delightful Animals & Kids Day on Thursday. The free indoor event began at 10 a.m. and was open to the public. During the event, children were able to meet, interact with, and learn about a variety of animals.
Pastor Naomi Ingrim said the event was created as a way to reach out to the community with the message of caring for God’s creatures.
“Every year, we’ve done something different, but it’s always under the theme of caring for God’s creatures,” said Ingrim. “I think this is one of our best years.”
Past events included veterinarian techs who taught the children about pet care. Groups that have taught in the past include Texas Humane Heroes and Patriot PAWS.
This year, Dave Weimert and Montana Hallmark of Pet Supplies Plus brought a variety of critters to the event including arachnids, reptiles, and snakes. 
Weimert said that their blue-tongued skink was especially popular.
“We enjoy it because we get to educate them a little bit,” said Hallmark.
“At this age, there’s two aspects to it. One is drawing interest in to the animals. It can set a career path at a young age, and it also alleviates fears. A lot of kids tend to be afraid of snakes and things like that,” said Weimert.
In addition to the more exotic pets, the children also got an up close look at goats and a more traditional pet, dogs.
Carole Zieris brought her dog, Bridget, a Havanese AKC champion, to show off some tricks for the kids. She also brought some Tibetan Spaniel puppies.
Zieris said that she hopes the kids learned to be gentle and to love the animals.
“The way God loves them, they should love the puppies,” said Zieris.
She said that when buying a puppy one should buy from a responsible breeder not from a pet shop. She added that it’s important to do some research on different kinds of breeds before choosing the dog that you want.
Zieris’ dog Bridget wandered amongst the children allowing them to pat her soft fur while Zieris talked about the importance of caring for your pet. To their delight, the children were also able to pet and hold some of her puppies during the show as well.
“I thought it was very fun. The kids had a lot of fun…They love it when they get to be hands on,” said Matthew Chambers, a Boys & Girls Club employee. “The kids had a lot of fun. They got to learn a few things and were able to pet some animals. It’s good for them to kind of get out of their bubbles every now and then.”