Groups helping teachers pay for classroom pets that enrich students without family animal

Experts say many children who enter the first grade can play video games but few have a pet to play with. And teachers say that's a shame, considering how animals — real ones — can enrich a child's upbringing.So for a quarter of a century, educators such as Dawn Slinger in Farmington, Minn., have paid out of their own pockets to provide one for their classrooms. Only in the past few years have groups stepped in to help with the financial burden.

Two years ago, Pets in the Classroom, a Maryland-based project from the nonprofit foundation Pet Care Trust, began offering grants to U.S. and Canadian teachers in grades 1 through 8. The money can be used to buy starter pets, cages, food and other supplies. It issued its 10,000th grant this summer.The $150 grants help offset the cost of the animal and its care, which helps teachers like Slinger who has been using her own money, said foundation executive director Steve King. Just an aquarium for a frog could cost more than a hundred dollars.

Teachers who apply for a second year or more get $50 for additional equipment, food and supplies.Pet Care Trust first started introducing pets to classrooms through a joint venture with the Florida Aquarium in Tampa five years ago. A classroom fish project gave participating teachers a 150-gallon aquarium, supplies and fish, King said. Nearly 200 classrooms in the Tampa area got aquariums, and a similar program was started in Chicago.