Talk about SUPER TROOPERS!

The girls in Charleston County's Daisy Troop #566 know how to approach a strange dog and why it's important to spay and neuter pets, thanks to an interactive humane education lesson this January from Pickles the dog and James Island, SC-based Pet Helpers.

Best part? The kids got to practice their safe approach techniques on Pickles. "They also did a great job of filling in the blanks I gave them during class," says Pet Helpers' Katie Mehle, director of public relations and outreach. "'Why would we want to stop dogs and cats from having babies?' I asked them. They responded, 'Because there are not enough homes!' and 'Because it's very expensive to take care of them!'"

Smart cookies, if we do say so ourselves.

P.S. Wanna start a youth movement at your shelter? "Lots of schools have students who need to do community service projects," says Mehle. "Make contact with schools to find out what kinds of groups might make good partners for your group."

Our service learning section is packed with ideas to get you started.

See what else Charleston is up to.