For more information on programs available at the TTC Institute for Humane Education, or to schedule a tour or field trip, contact Pam Stonebraker at (607) 257-1822, ext. 233 or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Tompkins Trust Company Institute for Humane Education allows us to advance our life-saving mission through humane education for school-age children and adults.

Our objectives for our humane education programs are ambitious:

1. Educating the public will ultimately lead to a decrease in the causes of animal homelessness and abuse.
2. Tomes of peer reviewed research demonstrate the link between animal abuse and child abuse; humane education addresses this unfortunate connection and so seeks to serve not only animals, but children as well.
3. It will mark this region once again as visionary for building a bridge between responsible animal care and youth development.
4. When the pet population is controlled, which is one inevitable outcome of effective, community-wide humane education, the benefits are many: less animal homelessness and so less suffering; a decreased risk of rabies infecting humans; less strays means less traffic hazards.
5. New York state law requires that every child receives humane education. Few schools adequately address this mandate, largely because they lack the expertise. We will help schools to fulfill their obligations.

As the Tompkins Trust Company Institute for Humane Education continues to grow, programming will encompass many facets of animal issues:

Companion Animal Care Series

• In-house Canine Behaviorist and nationally recognized guest lecturers will present workshops on dog management to address specific behaviors.
• Students and faculty of the Cornell School of Veterinary Medicine will present on animal care and disease identification.
• Films on animal care and animal advocacy will be screened, with discussion panels and action forums which are anticipated to include elected officials, and film makers.

Humane Education (always age appropriate) for Youth: Field Trips for K-12

• Animal Care - how to relate appropriately to pets and provide care for them
• Animal Safety - how to respond to dogs, cats, and wildlife you meet
• Introductory films, field trips and tours
• Workshops on basic animal behavior with demonstrations and hands-on participation
• Pet overpopulation and the importance of spay and neuter
• Ethical questions raised by our relationship with animals

Conferences

• How to achieve the No Kill mission - for other shelters
• Canine temperament assessment and cat socialization
• Animal cruelty investigations
• Shelter medicine

Workshops

• Internal volunteer orientation and staff professional development
• Exotic pet management
• Cat socialization and canine temperament assessment

Symposiums

• The animal welfare-humane welfare link: Abuse, domestic violence, violent crime
• Shelter medicine
• The breed-specific controversy: Pits, Rots, Dobermans, Shepherds, Dalmatians
• The Asilimar Accords: Definitions and when is it time to euthanize?