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At Pets2Kids, our vision is to improve children's health across the nation. Our mission is to inspire children to be physically active, eat healthy, and become great students and citizens of our community through the assistance of our dog teams as health mentors.
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Did you know that Florida ranks 35th in the U.S. in overall prevalence of childhood obesity with 33.1% of children considered overweight or obese? At Pets2Kids we are striving to overcome this problem one school at a time.
Dogs can promote healthy lifestyle changes. Dogs can improve student learning, reduce anxiety/cortisol levels, and increase school attendance and social interaction. Sylvia's dog, Hunter, is a registered, certified, and trained pet therapy dog who absolutely adores children. Another fun fact about Hunter is that he also loves to run and eat fruits and vegetables!
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With the summer camp programs available through Pets2Kids, we will teach the kids how much fun playing outdoors in the fresh air can be. Exercise is important for health but with Hunter, we will show the kids it doesn't have to be hard. We will also show that healthy foods can be tasty and delicious too!
About Sylvia
Sylvia Deputy has been a resident of Florida since 1993. Coming from her native country Peru she moved to Miami with her young son, Oscar. She studied diligently to learn English and the differences in culture while supporting her son.
Then she enlisted in the U.S. Army and served her new country for several years until she returned to Florida to earn a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Florida. Upon graduation, she moved with her family to Vero Beach and continued public service as an Indian River County High School teacher where she soon met her husband of 20 years, Steven.
Wanting to grow professionally, Sylvia returned to the University of Florida to earn her master's degree in environmental engineering. She has worked for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Duke Energy, Bechtel Engineering. Currently she works as a Corporate Engineer and manages 6 Chemical Manufacturing Facilities in Florida, Georgia and Mississippi.
Sylvia wants to give back to her community by helping children have an active and healthy life and teaching them to work hard and STEM gives students the foundation to succeed.
About Hunter
Hunter is a 4-year-old labrador that just became a service dog. He has been trained to pick up objects for Sylvia's mother who has arthritis. Hunter also opens doors for the elderly.
He is very active, likes to run from 5 to 7 miles at the time, eats fruits and vegetables, and likes to be a mentor! Hunter also enjoys playing with kids and adores when they read to him too!
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He also loves belly rubs, ear scritches and healthy snacks.
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What makes Hunter truly happy is to teach children about exercise and the importance of playing outside in the fresh air. Playing frisbee and fetch are some of his favorite activities.
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He's looking forward to all of the summer camp session and one-day events and seminars.
Need more info? We want to hear from you. Call or email today.
ABOUT PETS2KIDS
