Thank you for visiting the MHS Animal Care Camp site. Summer Camp is FULL.
2012 Camp Schedule
Camp Descriptions
Teen Counselor Assistant
Important Dates
Application & Registration Information
Frequently Asked Questions
Cancellation Policy
Session #1 (June 18 - June 22) 3rd/ 4th grade
Session #2 (June 25 - June 29) 1st/ 2nd grade & Teen Camp
Session #3 (July 9 - July 13) 3rd/ 4th grade
Session #4 (July 16 - July 20) 5th/ 6th grade
Session #5 (July 23 - July 27) 1st/ 2nd grade & Teen Camp
Session #6 (July 30 - August 3) 3rd/ 4th grade
Session #7 (August 6 - August 10) 5th/ 6th grade
Session #8 (August 13 - August 17) 3rd/ 4th grade
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Junior Animal Camp - Entering 1st or 2nd Grade in Fall 2012
$180 registration fee
Animal-themed arts, crafts, games, and daily visits from Animal Ambassadors. 20 campers per week/4 camp assistants per week.
- Session # 2, June 25- June 29
9 a.m. - Noon
- Session # 5, July 23- July 27
9 a.m. - Noon
Animal Care Camp - Entering 3rd or 4th Grade in Fall 2012
$280 registration fee
An introduction to basic animal care plus animal-themed arts, crafts, games, an opportunity to learn and practice the basics of dog training, and daily visits from Animal Ambassadors. 20 campers per week/4 camp assistants per week.
- Session #1: June 18- June 22
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- Session #3: July 9- July 13
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- Session #6: July 30- August 3
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- Session #8: August 13- August 17
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Senior Animal Care Camp - Entering 5th or 6th Grade in Fall 2012
$280 registration fee
An introduction to advanced animal care plus animal-themed arts, crafts, games, daily visits from Animal Ambassadors, and an opportunity to learn and practice the basics of dog training. 20 campers per week/4 camp assistants per week.
- Session #4: July 16- July 20
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- Session #7: August 6- August 10
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Teen Animal Care Camp - Entering 7th - 12th Grade in Fall 2012
$180 registration fee
Teens will experience the daily work of an animal shelter. They will learn about animal related careers, animal care & behavior, and animal welfare. Daily hands-on experience with shelter and volunteers' animals. 12 campers per week.
- Session #2: June 25- June 29
9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- Session #5: July 23- July 27
9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
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Entering 7th -12th grades in Fall 2012
$30 registration fee
There is a mandatory training on Saturday, June 9, 2-4 p.m.
If you love animals and enjoy working with younger children, you may apply as a Teen Camp Assistant. You may assist for one week-long camp session and earn community service credit for your effort. Teen Camp Assistants help young campers with projects, play with them at recess, and assist the camp staff with the handling of our Animal Ambassadors. Each Teen Camp Assistant works directly with a group of 4-5 campers for the entire camp session.
Requirements:
- Students in 7th and 8th grade may apply as an Assistant in the 1st - 4th grade camps.
- Students in 9th - 12th grades may volunteer as an Assistant for any camp session.
- Must be able to commit to entire schedule of the session you are applying for:
- 1st/ 2nd grade camps: Monday through Friday 8:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
- 3rd/ 4th grade camps: Monday through Friday 8:45 a.m.-3:15 p.m.
- 5th/ 6th grade camps: Monday through Friday 8:45 a.m.-3:15 p.m.
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- Thursday, March 1: Application period begins
- Friday, March 30: Application period closes
- Saturday, April 21: Notification of acceptance status via email
- Friday, May 18: Registration fees/ forms due
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The Marin Humane Society's Summer Camp application period ended March 30.
- Applications received after the deadline will be given consideration only after sessions have been filled and only if there are additional openings available.
- We are not able to accept walk-in registrations.
- Payment will not be accepted your online summer camp application form.
- Acceptance is done by lottery, as we receive hundreds of applications.
- You will be notified of acceptance via email.
- If you have been accepted, you will also receive forms and a request for registration payment.
- All registration fees must be received on time to secure your child's place in camp. Placement in summer camp will be forfeited if fees are not received by May 18, 2012.
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 Q. May my child attend more than one week of camp?
A. Due to the fact that we receive several hundred camp applications each summer, we must unfortunately limit a camper to one session.
Q. Why are there fewer kids in the Advanced Animal Care Camps than in the other camp sessions?
A. Evaluations of previous camp years indicated that most parents wanted their older children to have more hands-on time with the animals and more time participating in activities "behind the scenes" at the shelter. We wanted that too! The only way to accomplish it was to limit the number of kids in those sessions so that we could have a better camper to adult ratio. All children interacting with animals at MHS must be under direct adult supervision at all times and smaller groups allow for more hands-on time per child.
Q. Will my child spend most of the day working directly with animals?
A. Everything we do at camp is aimed at teaching children about animal care, handling, and welfare. We strive to give our campers an opportunity to interact with several animals each day. However, we are an open-door animal shelter that cares for all animals including some that may be sick, injured, or have behavior issues. Our ability to have kids interact with animals relies entirely on the types of animals who are in residence during the camp season. Our two top priorities are to provide our campers with a safe and fun experience and also to prevent our resident animals from any undue stress. Some animals simply cannot handle the attention of twenty children at a time and we endeavor to teach the children to respect the needs of each individual animal. We have wonderful animal ambassadors who are part of our SHARE program and have been approved to work with groups of children. These volunteer teams have attended a specialized class to prepare them for the work. Each day we will have several different volunteer animals at camp to help teach the campers a variety of lessons. They also will meet some shelter residents, a gentle bunny, curious rat, kid-loving dog or playful bunch of kittens. Animals are a part of everyday along with crafts, games and outdoor activities.
Q. May my child bring their own animal to camp?
A. While you may have a well-trained dog and a child who is very experienced at handling him, we can’t guarantee that of all our campers and their pets. In the interest of keeping both the children and the animals safe, we ask you to leave your pets at home. We will make sure the campers have opportunities to interact with animals who we know are behaviorally appropriate.
Q. Why don’t you expand your camp sessions in order to accommodate more children each summer?
A. We currently run sessions from the Monday after school gets out in June until just one week prior to the start of school in August. As we only have one room available at the shelter in which to hold camp, it is not possible to run multiple sessions at one time. We have added four extra weeks of camp and increased the number of kids per session over the last few years. We would love to expand the camp even further and hope that some day we will have a larger facility to accommodate that dream!
Q. What if our family can not afford the camp registration fee, are there scholarships?
A. We do have scholarships for low income families and have a scholarship application that can be requested after the lottery is finalized. Please let us know if you need an application and we will be happy to send you one and answer any questions.
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Camp sessions are very popular, but short term planning limits our ability to fill vacancies. Please make note of our Cancellation Policy. For Camp cancellations the following rules apply:
- 100% of Camp fees, less a $25 administration fee per Camper, will be refunded if requested more than three weeks prior to the start of a camp session.
- No refund (0%) of Camp fees will be made within three weeks (21 days or less) prior to the start of a camp session.
- No partial refund will be made for missed days.
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