Anisha Bhat is a junior at Walter Payton College Prep High School in Chicago. But since she was a freshman, she has participated in the Safe Humane Chicago Youth Leaders Program, an initiative offered as a mandatory elective for community service at the school. It was developed with the students, their high school teacher Michelle Mowery, Safe Humane Chicago dog handlers and facilitators, and director of Safe Humane Chicago and Best Friends Project Safe Humane, Cynthia Bathurst. 

Bhat was in on the ground floor for the planning and implementation of the program: teaching grammar school children in at-risk neighborhoods in Chicago the importance of kindness and compassion to animals. This Thursday, Bhat will be Bathurst’s guest on Safe Humane Chicago’s CAN-TV show. They will talk about the progress of the youth leaders program, Bhat’s personal experiences as a youth leader and maybe even spend some time talking about her visit with her fellow youth leaders to Best Friends during last year’s spring break.

“Anisha is one of our stars,” says Bathurst. “She has been part of press conferences about Safe Humane Chicago and was even a guest on Steve Dale’s Pet Central radio show last year. She is truly a leader in changing the way people and animals relate in our city.” 

Bhat has taken SHC messages to hundreds of students in schools. During just about every presentation, Bhat learns that at least a few participants are no strangers to violence against animals and people. Through the Youth Leaders Program, Bhat impresses upon her young audience that dog-fighting is dangerous and illegal (even if you’re just watching) and violence is never the answer.

“Safe Humane Chicago has given us the opportunity to make a difference for people and companion animals,” says Bhat. “If we can touch the heart and mind of a young child, that lesson will stay with him or her forever. By teaching young children how to be compassionate with animals, we will change the way we treat animals and each other.”

Many times, Bhat discovered that the children simply didn’t understand that dogs were sentient beings just like humans. She claims if she could drive home only one concept during her presentation, it would be the importance of instilling the concepts of kindness and compassion to animals at an early age.

“I’ve talked to a lot of kids who don’t realize that animals have feelings like we do,” she says. “And if you start them off thinking about compassion, then they’ll grow up with compassion instead of violence. We start with them and we create safer communities.”

The Safe Humane Chicago TV program is a live call-in show airing every Thursday (except Thanksgiving) at 5:30 p.m. on  CAN-TV’s Hotline 21. Check your local TV listings for the CAN-TV channel in your area.


Each week, we’ll post a preview of the guest and topic for the upcoming show. So be sure to log in to the Best Friends Safe Humane Chicago Network and the Best Friends Chicago Network site to read about upcoming shows.

Photos by Amy Abern.