Super-Duo visit the Museum!

People and dogs have had a close association for thousands of years. They provide companionship, affection, and protection for their owners. Dogs have a variety of different titles; companions, playmates, and even partners working together. “Dog’s are a man’s best friend” is a saying that tends to be used a great deal, and for Officer O’Connell of the Environmental Police K-9 Unit, this statement is completely accurate.

For the last five years, Officer O’Connell has been involved with the Environmental K-9 Unit and has had the privilege of working with his best friend and partner, Diesel, a six year old Black Labrador. The super duo has been in action for the last six years since Diesel was born. As of five years ago, the two became partners in crime and are still to this day a fearsome crime fighting pair.Officer O’Connell started his career as a Police Officer for the town of Oakham, Massachusetts and gradually made his way up to working for the Federal Government Department of Defense. O’Connell had the desire to be an environmental police enforcer for many years. Being in the Coast Guard for twelve years in the K-9 unit, much of the obligations, responsibilities and tasks as a Coast Guard mirror the same duties as an environmental enforcer. Since becoming an Environmental Police Officer in the K-9 unit, a typical day on the job for O’Connell and Diesel could be a variety of different things such as boat patrols on the Boston Harbor, forest and state park patrols, or even a deployment for a missing person.

O’Connell and his furry friend and partner Diesel have teamed up with MA Vest-A-Dog, which is an organization dedicated to dogs involved in K-9 units to help provide bulletproof vests, important equipment, training, and the purchasing of dogs for law enforcement K-9 programs around the state of Massachusetts. Officer O’Connell and Diesel paid a visit to The Children’s Museum in Easton to demonstrate Diesels skills in the unit as well as talk about duties, important facts, and information about MA Vest-A-Dog program. Diesel showed off his special tricks and demonstrated his important role in the Environmental Police force.

Not only does Officer O’Connell have the remarkable Diesel, he is also the proud owner of a 10 month old black Labrador named Grizzly, who just so happens to be Diesel’s son. Grizzly is currently undergoing training to be in the E.O.D (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) K-9 unit and soon, like Diesel, will become a next generation “super-dog”.


Written by Sean Gearin - Public Relations Intern at The Children's Museum in Easton

Benefits of Pets for Kids

Are you debating whether or not you should get that new puppy? Or that kitten? Or any pet for that matter? Obviously this decision is difficult and based on many factors, and pets aren’t for every family. One of the main questions on every parent’s mind is, “will getting a pet be good for my kids or will it be a detriment to our family dynamics?” Well we’ve put together a list to help you answer this question. Though as we said before, pets are not for every family or child, in the right atmosphere they can be beneficial for children!

1. Responsibility: Perhaps the best thing a pet can teach your child is responsibility. Pets are dependent on their owners for survival. Having your children help take on the responsibility to feed, water, and exercise their pets teaches self discipline and develops children’s sense of nurturing. Furthermore, it teaches your children about commitment and consequences. Commitment comes with ownership. If you want a pet, you must take care of it. You are responsible for them for their entire life. If you can’t handle the commitment, you will lose your pet (either you’ll have to sell it or it will die).  Lastly, all actions have consequences. If you don’t feed your fish, it will die. If you leave the gate open, the dog can run away. Children will begin to learn to think before they do. All of these are great skills to have for life.

2. Learning: Pets actually help kids learn! Aside from learning responsibility and how to take care of something, kids can learn a bunch from their pets! With pets, your children will learn both verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Through commands they learn how to be assertive with their voice. Through interacting with their animals, they will learn how to read cues because clearly animals can’t talk. Furthermore, being with animals can help ease stress and help sustain focus, this can help when doing homework and in learning other things! Finally, pets can teach your child about bigger life ideas such as unconditional love and the circle of life (humans almost always outlive their pets).

 3. Fun, Entertainment & Physical Activity:  Having a playful pet around can entertain your children for hours. Not only does this give you a break, but it is a much better alternative than them watching television! Additionally, for pets that need exercise, caring for pets is a great way to keep your  children active.

4. Allergens! This item on the list was new to me. When doing research for this post we stumbled upon this website: http://voices.yahoo.com/10-reasons-kids-pet-8288127.html?cat=25. They explained that, “Doctors used to think that exposure to pets caused allergies. New studies have now shown that the opposite is actually true. Web MD reports that children who live with dogs and cats in the house during their first year actually have a reduced risk of developing allergies. Not only are they less likely to react to pet dander, but the protection also seems to extend to outdoor allergens as well. The theory behind this protection is that the high exposure to pet dander allows the immune system to de-sensitize to harmless antigens, leaving it less likely to react inappropriately.”

5. Built-in-friend: This last benefit is dedicated to all the pets who stuck by their humans through thick and thin. Not only is this just for your kids but for you as well. When your kids or yourself feel lonely, stressed, anxious or anything else, a pet is always there to comfort you and give you love and support. They don’t say much, but just a nuzzle, hug, or pat can do wonders for your mood

     To go along with our “pets are good for you” theme, we spoke to Dawn Cordeiro of Farm Visits. Her business brings baby farm animals to you for any occasion and provides a hands on experience with them. 

Dawn supports us and says that interactions with animals “teach kindness and compassion.” “I think overall it teaches them responsibility, you know? To care for another living being.” She expands to talking about farm animals and says that they teach children about “where their food comes from. Children [and people in general] are very distanced from their food origin. It really comes from a farm, not Stop & Shop.”

We next asked Dawn her expert opinion on what makes a good pet and she listed three right off the bat: “Dog, kitty, bunny.” Those aren’t a surprise to hear, but the next thing she says may be! Dawn says that as far as outdoor pets go, goats are the way to go! She explains, “They’re friendly, easy to care for and feed, and they mow your lawn!”

To learn more about Dawn and Farm Visits,

 visit www.farm-visits.com !

Dog Days of Summer Part 2: My Visit to a Dog Show

In early July, the Hockamock Kennel Club, Inc. ( a member of the American Kennel Club) held a dog show at the Crackerbarrel Fairgrounds in Wrentham, MA, where over 600 dogs competed. In preparation for our Dog Days of Summer drop-in, I decided to take a trip there to experience a dog show for myself. There were many trailers and cars set up along the grassy field where dog owners prepped their pooch for show time. As I walked towards the gigantic tent and fenced in areas where the dogs would be shown, I was greeted by a woman named Wendy. Wendy, is the Show Chairman and has over 40 years familiarity with dog shows.

Wendy gave me a tour around the fairgrounds, explaining all the ins and outs of the operation of a dog show. I saw so many different types of dogs. They all ranged in height and weight. Some had long hair while others had short hair. Most of the breeds I recognized but for some I needed to refer to my dog show guide to figure out which breed they were.


While there, I was fortunate to have met some very interesting folks. First, there was Mila. She is formerly from the Czech Republic but now lives in Plainville. Mila was showing her Rhodesian ridgeback, Lexi and brough along her two young boys to enjoy the show. Then I talked with Katie; a 14-year-old girl who has been showing dogs for 5 years. Katie was showing her Cardigan Welsh Corgi that day. Lastly, I spoke to Susan who has been showing dogs for 15 years and was attending the show with her Havanese, Renny.

The AKC website (http://www.akc.org/) offers a lot of information about breeders, all breeds of dogs as well as dog show registration. If you are interested in seeing a dog show, visit http://www.infodog.com/ for a show near you. Next...how to choose the best dog for you!