High School Students Make Houses For Needy Dogs And Feral Cats!

Teaching students handy skills can make all the difference in the world when they’re teenagers. It provides them with the lessons and talents that they can use when they get out into the real world and are seeking jobs to help them earn money. But very few jobs actually end up giving back to the community as much as this teacher’s shop class did.

In Jacksonville, Florida, one shop teacher was helping his students learn the fundamentals of construction by teaching them to build dog houses. Barry Stewart is a Building Construction teacher who has been doing this for the past fourteen years, and his class has provided many homes to dogs and feral cats.

The houses that are made are donated to the local shelter and families with pets who are in need. Not only do the families who receive these dog houses are free are thankful for the gifts that make their pets more comfortable, but the students get to learn house construction on a much smaller scale.

Image Credit: Friends of Jacksonville Animals, Inc.

The fundamental basics are the same as with a full-sized home, including how to make and use materials to create a functional roof.

Image Credit: Friends of Jacksonville Animals, Inc.

The students also learn how to be adaptable with their construction to meet he needs of these house dwellers, such as putting the entry to one side to prevent an onslaught of wind and rain, and making the roofs removable on cat houses so that caretakers can clean them more easily.

Image Credit: Friends of Jacksonville Animals, Inc.

Since the class was started, there have been over 600 dog houses and 110 feral cat houses built! Share away, people!

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