Going to the Dogs at Peirce Elementary

What do you get when you lead eight enormous greyhounds into a room full of children?

A lot of excited squeals and plenty of ear scratching, head rubbing and general puppy love.

Greyhound Friends, Inc., a Hopkinton-based nonprofit dedicated to rescuing racing greyhounds, brought a number of greyhound owners and eight of the gentle giants to Peirce Elementary School in West Newton Tuesday for a Greyhound Friends Educational Outreach Program.

During the hour long presentation, students learned about the work of the organization, the greyhound breed and how to interact with dogs.

"Our primary goal, I think, is to really get the message across about being kind to animals," said Stoddard Melhado, president of the board of directors of Greyhound Friends, Inc. and coordinator of the education outreach program. "What we still are doing is educating the public about greyhounds, about what wonderful dogs they are ... it's really to get an appreciation for what beautiful animals they are."

And, of course, there was a lot of hands-on interaction with the dogs, which were taller (and more calm) than many of the children.

The children also presented the trainers with a donation of blankets for the rescue, which often houses as many as 30 greyhounds, and a check to purchase supplies.

Check out the attached video for more from Melhado and footage of the children with the dogs.