Everybody’s Favorite Little Pal Zeus Returns to High Point . . .
And He Brings Jazzy Back as a Sidekick
“The reason for the Hand in Paw project is to help dogs, to help save their lives and for them to be safe. It’s important to do things like that. I like to help because it’s nice to help others. It makes me feel warm inside.”—Roosevelt H., age 7.
High Point Academy’s first graders were treated to a special visit from Hand in Paw’s own celebrities, 13-year-old Zeus (that’s 91 in human years!) and much younger Jazzy, who manages quite nicely on three legs. Piper Wood (HPA Class of ’94) always accompanies her furry friends to share their stories with these young students as they learn the meaning of helping others—humans and their four-legged friends. No matter that Zeus needs to eat a special diet and Jazzy no longer has four legs. They are both good examples of what fostering an animal can do.
Owen H., age 7, explains, “Well, the purpose of our project is to, like, help save dogs, help them get better lives, and help them get owners. Piper, the lady that runs Hand in Paw, well, she basically just tries to get the dogs a better home. It’s important to think about that because we’re growing up and we have to think about helping other people and their animals. It makes me feel good to do that. We talked about how to travel with them, how to take care of them, what they need, all that stuff in class. For the Read-a-Thon basically, we read ten books, then we would get $10, and if we wanted to add a little more, we could get more.”
Seven-year-old Natalie N. added, “I raised money for the dogs so they can be healthy and still alive. I’m happy because it was fun and because they might be scared and we could help.”
First grade teachers Ms. Mallin Alter and Ms. Tomi Okuno organized their annual Read-a-Thon specifically to benefit Hand in Paw. Then they went about gathering supplies for a well-organized assembly line so the future Bakers of America could mix together yummy ingredients like pureed pumpkin, flour, applesauce and eggs. When the batter was blended, students carefully spooned it into rubber molds ready for baking. The teachers took care of that part, and before they knew it, the big jar was filled to the brim with delicious dog cookies. Along with dozens and dozens of hand-made pumpkin biscuits, the organization was the beneficiary of a whopping $340 towards medical services for the pups.
Hand in Paw is a local organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and adoption of abandoned, homeless, and abused dogs. Its founder and president Piper Wood partners with High Point each year to share the story of dogs in need as part of the school’s Community Engagement program. She explains that the rescued dogs come from all over the world and are treated for medical issues as needed and then fostered out. Except for her own dogs Zeus and Jazzy, who live with her, all dogs are placed with kind, responsible families in the hopes of finding forever homes. The K-6 curriculum encourages empathy and kindness towards others—human and otherwise, and this project is no exception. Liam K., age 7, summed up the whole experience this way: “Dogs are special because I have two. I used to have three, but one of them died from a coyote. We are putting the baking stuff in the oven so we can give biscuits to the dogs and also help them get homes.”
