17 year old Sarah has drawn on her passion to form an innovative, education-focused endeavour aimed at eliminating the 2nd leading cause of injury to children … dog bites.

Over the last 3 years, she has enjoyed a number of successful events at venues such as schools, malls and fairs. She currently is fulfilling invitations from school districts in New York, Montréal, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto and Minneapolis.

Aware, not Afraid
Sarah's focus is towards children from Kindergarten through Grade 5, as most children who are bitten by a dog are 10 years old and younger. Dog bites are the 2nd leading cause of injury among children in North America [2.7 million children in 2007].

Emphasis is directed towards teaching the children to be aware of, rather than afraid of, dogs. To be respectful of them, not fearful of them.

No one breed is targeted through Aware, not Afraid. It is explained that any dog with teeth can bite.

Awareness …
The Aware, not Afraid presentation starts with explaining body language. The children are encouraged to think about how we, as humans, use body language every day to communicate how we feel. When we’re happy and want to be around others or when we’re sad, or mad, and want to be left alone. From there Sarah shows the children the different ways a dog uses their body language to let us know if they want to play, or have us stay away.

Aware, not Afraid then shows the children how to approach a dog … a strange one or their own family pet. Emphasis is placed on the # 1 cause of bites: hugging ! The children learn about how a dog feels about it’s neck. That to dogs the neck is a place of submission, and therefore they are very sensitive to any constraint to their necks.

Sarah then talks about, and shows, the children how to respond if they are confronted by a dog that may bite. She stresses to not run away and explains the nature of a dog is to chase and catch. She shows the children how to “stand like a tree” or “lay like a log”. The importance of eye contact is presented as well as how to “feed” the dog a jacket or backpack.

Aware, not Afraid ends with what to do if you are bitten, who to call and where to go.

Mission Statement
To serve as integral partners to Educators in an effort to enlighten children to the issue of dog biting awareness

“Our grades 1 - 5 gathered in our auditorium to hear Sarah speak on how to be Aware, not Afraid. We were really impressed with the fact she did not create any kind of fear in the children regarding being bitten but rather spoke to the need for understanding how dog’s communicate to us.”
St Patrick’s Elementary
Smithtown, NY

“Lovely presentation and great tips on dog behaviour !”
St Gabriel’s Elementary
Montreal, QC

“Our 250 students from Gr 1 through 4 were really impressed with sarahs presentation. She communicated very effectively on the subject of dog biting awareness. From the questions that were asked afterwards I know the children were really listening and thinking about what was presented.”
St Luke’s Elementary   
Bronx, NY

“We recently had a great presentation to our students from Sarah on the issue of dog biting awareness. Her talk is very proactive to this issue and I’m sure the children went away with some great information to apply in their everyday lives.”
St Steven’s Elementary 
New York, NY

“The students at the English Montreal School Board really appreciated the opportunity to gain increase awareness about the serious subject of dog biting. Sarah and Jennifer Boyle of Bark Busters in Montreal made an excellent team.”
[Michael Cohen / Communications Director]

“Sarah spoke to our 250 students in K and Grade 1 on the very relevant issue of dog biting. The children were really benefited by her being with us. We look forward to having her back again.”
Southwest Elementary
Bay Shore, NY
    
“The children learned some great things about how to approach a dog and what to do if a strange dog comes up to them. Thank you Sarah !”
Preschool of America, Upper East    
New York, NY

“We really enjoyed having sarahs presentation at our school !”
PS 142 Elementary 
New York, NY

“Our little ones were very attentive to Sarah as she taught them how to be safe around dogs. Her information will stay with them for a long time.”
Preschool of America, Times Square
Manhattan, NY