Dae’Shalae Hollis has two passions: children and animals. When it came time for college she considered veterinary school but “couldn’t see myself euthanising animals”.

“Maybe I could have been a veterinarian’s assistant, but I don’t think I could handle the medical side of things,” she said.

Instead she became a paraeducator, a person who works with special education students to help them better understand their lessons.

Next month, however, she will bring her two loves together in a summer camp for six to 11-year-olds.

Visits to Dolphin Quest, the SPCA, the Aquarium, and a doggy daycare are all on the cards.

“We will be going horseback riding, and playing an animal version of Family Feud,” the 24-year-old said.

Children will also have the opportunity to bring their own pets to camp for show and tell.

The idea for the Summer Companion Camp stemmed from A+ Tutoring and Afterschool Programme, the venture she started with her mother Denise McCrary on Court Street two years ago.

“She teaches the younger children and I teach the older ones,” said Ms Hollis, who also has a full-time job at Clearwater Middle School. “I also teach dance to the little ones. Then we also do camps in the spring, summer and fall.

“We did a camp with the girls and they loved it. They did horseback riding. They went to the Aquarium. They did fun games here. They brought their dogs in and I brought mine in. That was fun.”

That camp was only a week long. Ms Hollis is looking forward to an entire month of animal-related fun.

“I think this is the first animal-based camp for kids in Bermuda,” she said. “It is going to be awesome.”

Ms Hollis thinks her love of animals came from her father’s side of the family.

They always had dogs; her mother was not so keen. Ms Hollis “begged and begged” for one of her own but the answer was always no.

And then one Christmas her mother took her to the home of a friend where Ms Hollis happily played with two dogs.

“When we were about to leave they said ‘Here, take your dog,’” Ms Hollis said.

She couldn’t believe it when her mother confirmed that the rescue dog was hers.

In order to keep the Yorkshire Terrier poodle mix that Ms Hollis named Hazel, she had to train her. The 14-year-old “learnt by watching a lot of television shows”.

Cesar Milan’s Dog Whisperer, was a favourite. Unknown to anyone however, Hazel was pregnant.

“One day she was going in my closet and under the bed – places where she was not supposed to go,” Ms Hollis said. “I thought she was being naughty.”

As she scooped Hazel up and hugged her, her brother shouted that “something [was] coming out”.

“There was blood, and a puppy popped out. I was in shock,” Ms Hollis said.

Her pet’s three puppies were eventually sold to good homes.

Now 11, Hazel spends a lot of time snuggling with Ms Hollis, “something she did not do a lot of when she was younger”.

A six-month-old Jack Russell is now part of the family. Dior is more energetic than Hazel was as a puppy.

“So far, she knows how to ring the bell to go outside to potty,” Ms Hollis said. “She knows ‘fetch’. Right now, I am trying to teach her good manners when we go for a walk.”

At her camp last spring she brought Hazel and Dior in to help educate students about dogs.

“Sometimes the little ones pick the dogs up wrong and I have to teach them the right way to do that,” she said. “I showed the children the tricks my dogs know. I also gave them a bunch of facts about dogs, which they loved.

“Afterward, we played a game to see how much they remembered – they were paying attention.”

Whether working with children or animals, she draws on many of the same skills.

“With animals you have to be patient and it is the same with children,” she said. “I look at my animals as my children, just as I look at my after-school students as my children – they both love to go outside, they are both energetic and you have to spend a lot of time with them.”

She joked that they are also both a lot of work. It’s with that in mind she created a camp that she thought would be fun for anyone who attends.

“It will be entertaining,” she said. “The kids will love it and it will be educational and worthwhile.”

Dae’Shalae Hollis’s Summer Companion Camp will run from July 3 to 28 at the Margaret Carter Centre in Devonshire. The camp is $175 for a week. A $60 registration fee covers the cost of field trips and activities. For more information: daeshalae1@hotmail.com; 732-3454 or @kidsloveanimals_ on Instagram