Children are fascinated with animals and our kids are no exception. Love & Hope Children’s Home has a few mascotas, or pets. Awhile back, we told you a little about our chickens and how we took care of an overpopulation of roosters in our backyard. Our chickens are still alive, well, and noisy. The Love & Hope kids are mainly responsible for caring for them, feeding them and tidying the coop. The chickens give us a good number of eggs, which helps stock the kitchen and provides us with breakfast every now and then.
One of the coolest things about keeping chickens has been the baby chicks! We have unintentionally had two eggs that have been incubated by our hens and hatched. Last time it happened, our social worker discovered the tiny chick while the Love & Hope kids were at school. They were very excited and surprised to find a new member of the flock when they came home. Those cute little “peep-peeps” are so much nicer than the obnoxious “cock-a-doodle-doos” of our two roosters!
The other resident of our backyard is Sammy the bunny. Sammy is about a year-and-a-half old, and claims the entire backyard as his home. He hops up and down the several stories of stairs looking for grass, leaves and fruit to nibble on. Our guard faithfully brings Sammy scraps from the kitchen too. Sammy is very friendly, enjoys being held and cuddled, and has been known to hop into the house on occasion! For Easter we even got him all spiffied up.
For whatever reason, there also seems to be a slight obsession with turtles in this house. Exhibit #1 is “La Puerta de Torgugas.” Every so often, the kids engage in a turtle-coloring spree and all of the pictures are taped onto the same door.
Exhibit #2 is Indigo, Mandy’s turtle. We haven’t had Indigo long, but the kids love visiting, feeding, and holding the tiny tortuga.
It has been a long process, but our children are slowly learning to respect and value animals as part of God’s creation. They love visiting the pet store and pointing out the pets they would like to have one day. Our mascotas have been a great way to teach our kids responsibility and provide entertainment!