FURRY TAILS STORYTIME

GOLDEN VALLEY, MN
VISIT WEBSITE

A story, a craft, and visiting animals, all in under one hour? If your kid is anything like mine, this is like a dream-come-true hour of fun.  I’m talking about Furry Tails Story Time hosted at the Golden Valley Humane Society.

My two-year-old absolutely adores any puppy, kitty, parrot, bunny, mouse, heck…anything furry.  In the past, to fulfill this endearing adoration, I’ve taken her to Como Zoo, the Minnesota Zoo, the pet store at Northtown Mall (you know, the one where there’s puppies in the windows?), my aunt’s house to see her dogs, my brother’s to see his cats, the park to visit geese and watch squirrels chase each other… We have a lovely (easy-to-care-for) fish named Elmo at our house, so any animal bigger than that is a real treat!  Needless to say, we called the Humane Society right away to make a reservation the day we found out about this awesome monthly event.

What is it?

FurryTails at the Golden Valley Humane Association is a story, craft, and animal visit all in one. One of the super-friendly humane educators starts out with a story, asking questions and getting the kids engaged and excited. When the story is finished, the kids gather at a table to do a craft related to the story. The first time we attended FurryTails, the story read was The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. We followed up the story by gluing a strawberry together using pre-cut shapes and then stamping our fingerprints onto the strawberry to make the seeds.  Easy, quick, and fun. Bing, bang, boom.

But then, the best part….a special animal visit! You never know what animals they will bring into the room after the story and craft project. We have been there to see adorable kittens, curious bunnies, squealing guinea pigs, excited puppies, and even a couple beautiful white doves!

Fit for what ages?

Furry Tails Story Time is fit for ages 2-4.  Younger and older siblings are welcome, and feel free to ask them when making reservations if the craft is suitable for them as well.

How much are we talkin?

Best part? It’s completely FREE! Unless you walk out with an amazingly adorable adoptee (do it.. you know you want to).

Want some tips?

When in the room, children are advised to pet the “animal visitors” with two fingers.  Remind your children on the way the importance of taking turns and being gentle. The ladies that run this are so good at making sure the animals are properly petted and made comfortable in the room surrounded by what could be chaotic toddler central.  It is so mellow, structured, and cool.

For this event, enter through the Administrative doors (not the adoption doors). The Adoption Center does not open until noon on Wednesdays.  Someone will meet you at the door to check you in and walk you back to the room where the event takes place.  You will walk past animals, so be ready to repeat “We’ll visit the puppies later” over and over until you reach the room.  You really are able to walk around and visit them after the FurryTails is done. 🙂

When finished with the special animal visit, you are free to walk around a bit to see the different animals. Granted this is not the “Adoption Center,” but they still have bunnies, a few small dogs and kittens, mice and birds throughout the Administrative building.  But please wash hands! Some of the animals might have kennel cough or other sicknesses, so stress the fact of washing hands between petting one puppy to the next.

Hours and Location

845 Meadow Ln. N  |  Golden Valley, MN 55422

FurryTails occurs on the second Wednesday of the month from 10:00 – 10:45am. You must make a reservation by calling 763-489-2221. Enter through Administrative building.

Stick around and peruse the Adoption Center. Their hours are:
Monday-Friday  12 – 8 pm
Saturday-Sunday  10am – 6pm

Follow the Humane Society on Facebook. The sweet fuzzy faces they post will make you want to bring them all home with you. Or you can virtually celebrate with each adoption announcement! They are always welcoming donations (monetary and in-kind, as well as volunteer time), so keep them in mind throughout the year.