Laguna Blanca School’s fifth-grade class and their teacher, Mrs. Brown, are DAWG’s best friends.

For the third year, the class has selected DAWG (Dog Adoption & Welfare Group) to benefit from their annual community service project. This month, a delegation of canine residents were invited to visit the school, where they quickly won the students’ hearts.

The class paid a return visit to DAWG to learn what life is like for the dogs at Santa Barbara’s only no-kill shelter. They toured the facility, played with the puppies and took part in a dog training class.

When they saw an unfinished tile wall, each student was invited to paint a tile in honor of a dog. The class decided that completing the wall would be their way to beautify the shelter and raise funds to help the dogs.

They enlisted their art teacher, Melissa Abrams, for help in assembling kits containing a tile, paints, a sponge, a paintbrush and instructions for making personalized tiles.

The fifth-grade class plans to sell the kits at the Laguna Blanca campus. The tile kits will also be available at DAWG. All proceeds from sales of the tile kits benefit the lost and abandoned dogs at DAWG who are awaiting their forever homes.

— Morgan Flint is the shelter manager for DAWG.