NOTES+from+October+4,+2011

**NOTES FROM OCTOBER 4th MEETING**  //Thank you all so much for your interest in the Young Advocates Club and your enthusiasm at our first meeting!!//

Each meeting will have the notes posted on this site so you can refer back to the notes or look the notes over if you missed a meeting.

First of all, we were visited by Kathy who led us in an ice breaker that got us talking to each other and meeting each other. Thanks, Kathy!! Then we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Wisconsin Humane Society to learn about the work that WHS does to help animals every day. Finally we talked about some issues facing animals in the community and what we think a kind community would be like. Some of the thoughts that came up were that a kind community were:
 * People would have knowledge about and respect for eco-systems
 * There would be responsible breeding of companion animals
 * No more abuse/neglect
 * Animals would be free to live their lives without fear
 * There will be homes for all domestic animals
 * There would be an abundance of resources for all.

After talking what a kind community would look like, I asked you to start thinking about what are the obstacles that keep us from creating these kinds of communities for animals. Below is some information from the Humane Society of the United States that outlines some animal-related issues. These are //not// the only animal issues that are out there! I strongly encourage you to do research on your own about other issues that interest you or that we discussed. For instance, we talked a lot about respecting habitats and wildlife and that is something that is not covered much in this information.

 **TO DO:** Please come back next month with some ideas about the issue or issues that you would like us to address and maybe some thoughts about what we could do as a group to combat these issues. We will try to narrow our focus at the next meeting to help us to decide how we are going to progress during the next few months. I am very excited about all of the thoughtful ideas that you had during our discussion!

Thank you all again for your enthusiasm and commitment to animals in our community!I am looking forward to our next meeting on Tuesday, November 1st at 4p.m.! = =
 * [[file:Animals_in_Entertainment.pdf]] || [[file:Combat-Cruelty-HOT-Sheet-Teen.pdf]] || [[file:FarmsAsFactories.pdf]] || [[file:Go-Wild-for-Wildlife-HOTSheet-Teen.pdf]] ||
 * [[file:Help-Homeless-Pets-HotSheet-Teen.pdf]] || [[file:Hens-Need-Hand-Teen-HOT-Sheet.pdf]] || [[file:StopPuppyMills.pdf]] || [[file:Understanding_Animal_Cruelty.pdf]] ||