LIVERMORE — Jan Eastman’s third-graders collected about 40,000 pennies this school year with the goal of donating them to worthy charitable organizations.

Just collecting the coppers wasn’t enough. They also had to do a persuasive writing piece and have it go through a class vote to see what charities would be the winners of their donations.

The Livermore Elementary School students chose the American Red Cross and the Franklin County Animal Shelter.

The check to the Red Cross was mailed.

Students gave checks worth $213.81 in person to shelter Executive Director Heidi Jordan on Wednesday when she visited the classroom with Gretchen, an in-training service dog, she adopted.

Jordan taught students about care for animals, preventing animal abuse and identifying the signs of an animal that is being abused.

“In order to stop animal cruelty, you need to know what animal cruelty is,” Jordan said.

What do dogs need? she asked students.

Food, water, shelter and exercise were some answers.

“What else do they need?” she asked.

Love, one student said, so the animal won’t turn vicious.

“They need to be part of your family,” Jordan said. “Dogs are pack animals.”

She asked how many students had seen dogs chained up all the time and never allowed to go in the house or without shelter?

Hands popped up.

Having a dog chained out isn’t the best thing, she said, but it doesn’t always mean that it is being abused.

But when they are out in cold and hot weather with no water and no shelter, it could be a sign of animal cruelty, she said.

“It’s against the law to leave a dog outside if it doesn’t have shelter or water,” Jordan said.

She urged students to tell an adult if they see that situation so the adult can either speak to the owner or call an animal control officer.

Students asked several questions and received answers to topics of strays and how to handle a pet dying. They also wanted to know where the shelter was located.

In Farmington, about 2 miles from Renys on Route 43 on the left, Jordan answered.

In between topics, a presentation of the donation was made.

“They worked very hard bringing in pennies,” Eastman said.

Otis Federal Credit Union in Jay had accepted the pennies for the student project.

Students Isabelle Castonguay and Scott Jackson each presented Jordan with a check.

Jordan thanked them and told the class that she would be able to buy 40 bags of cat litter, about 2,000 pounds, with the money.

“We go through 13,000 pounds of cat litter every year,” she said.

More than 1,000 animals come into the shelter every year, most of them brought in by animal control officers.

“At our shelter, we don’t put animals down,” Jordan said.

It is only done if it is absolutely necessary such as an animal being too sick or too old, she said.

dperry@sunjournal.com