From March 18 to April 25, 2025, Ukraine hosted an unusual and inspiring initiative — the nationwide campaign “Give a Paw if You Know.” This year, we suggested teachers swap the usual roles: instead of instructing children, they gave students the chance to become “examiners” and test their relatives’ knowledge about the basic rules of treating animals with care and respect.
Altogether, 99 groups — including classes, schools, and extracurricular institutions — joined the campaign across the country. Teachers first discussed six key questions about humane treatment of animals with their students. Afterwards, the children brought these questions home and asked them to parents, siblings, and relatives.
According to the children, the trickiest questions for adults were: “If you leave a pet tied outside a store for 15 minutes, is it considered homeless under Ukrainian law?” and “What is the minimum length of a leash for a domestic dog?”
Even when adults struggled, the children stepped in to explain the correct answers — turning the activity into a powerful and heartfelt learning moment.
For many families, this simple challenge sparked honest conversations, new insights, and warm moments, captured in photos later shared by teachers along with feedback.
To celebrate the participants, we prepared commemorative badges — symbols of conscious care for animals and valuable family experiences. These can be downloaded at the end of the article by clicking “Badges for Participants”.
This campaign proved that education is not always a “top-down” process. Sometimes it is children who help adults grow, reflect, and become more compassionate.
Some photos of our participants
We’re deeply grateful to everyone who took part!
Together, we’re making the world a kinder place!
