Our educational project “Patas y Manos” (“Paws and Hands”) was developed based on the prevention program “The Blue Dog” which has been in use in Germany, England, and the Netherlands for many years.
Tailored to Chilean conditions, “Patas y Manos” addresses children aged 3 to 6, as well as their parents and educators. Over the course of approximately one (school) year, a specially trained person uses playful learning units to teach important knowledge about the needs and behavior of dogs.
The aim is to practice species-appropriate and safe handling of dogs, thereby significantly reducing the incidence of dog bites and zoonosis (transmissible diseases between animals and humans). This knowledge can prevent great suffering—for both children and dogs!
After the upheavals of the COVID-19 pandemic had put the project on hold for a long time, we finally found a new Chilean kindergarten that is willing and able to include “Patas y Manos” in the curriculum of its aprox. 40 children – the Parvulario Rural Manderscheid in Copiulemu, a village nearby the city of Concepción.
Our cooperation is scheduled to last three years and is divided into:
- Financing phase (2026)
total costs of €46,000 (pilot phase: €19,000, establishment phase: €27,000)
- Pilot phase (2027)
implementation of the concept, including seminars for parents and educators
- Establishment phase (2028)
expansion to at least two additional kindergartens in the region, including specialist training for multipliers
FinnDomingo e.V. has been officially registered and recognized as a non-profit organization in Chile since the end of 2023. This will hopefully help us to overcome some of the hurdles that such projects repeatedly face, not least when it comes to fundraising.
The details of the cooperation with the “Kindergarten Manderscheid” are currently still being discussed; the following video gives an impression of our visit in November 2025:
