WHITMAN — Being home alone isn’t as easy as it used to be for kids — the days of heading outside for a day of unsupervised play and adventure “until the streetlights come on” seem to be over as parents worry more about their children’s safety.

That’s where Safety Savvy Kids & Grown-Ups comes in.

On Thursday, Aug. 4, 10 boys and girls in the grade six-to-eight age group, learned the safest practices for being at home when their parents or other adult family members are out. The first two days covered adult and pediatric CPR and first aid.

“I sat down and looked at all the different things that possibly could go wrong, or that kids in this age group needed to be trained on for safety,” said Safety Savvy Kids & Grown-Ups developer Windy Winters-Harrington of Whitman. “I just think that I am aware of the world today and that more kids are staying home alone.”

She researched and developed her idea for the business over the course of 14 months with her husband police officer Kevin Harrington, who aided with the Home Alone component, on the philosophy that knowledge is power. Winters-Harrington is a former administrator in pediatrics at Floating Hospital and in the W-H School District behavior department, as well as a certified CPR/AED (automated external defibrillator) instructor. Officer Harrington is experienced in school safety and is a national crime prevention specialist.

“It’s a different world,” Winters-Harrington told participants at Whitman Public Library last week. “There’s more pressure on your age group. I think it’s tough for you because you’ve got to manage a lot of different things … there’s not always a lot of kindness going on.”

To teach, not scare

That said, the object here is to arm kids with information, not the stuff of nightmares.

“We wanted to make sure we got the information out there that you understood and that made an impact so, in case these situations ever happen, you’re prepared,” Winters-Harrington told the children. “I’m not trying to scare you, I’m not trying to make you feel anxious or worried … but I want you to be prepared and aware.”

Winters-Harrington facilitated two free summer camps at Whitman Public Library from July 26-28 and Aug. 2-4.

“We had a wait list for both classes,” said Library Director Andrea Rounds. “It was one of the most well-received programs we’ve ever hosted at the library.”

Campers received two-year certifications in CPR/AED and first aid from the American Red Cross and a Safety Savvy Kids Home Alone Certificate.

“We have had baby-sitting courses in the past, and they teach certain important life skills, but this program incorporates a whole lot of other really important skills like how to safely answer the door,” Rounds said. “So often children do stay home alone and feel unprepared. We’ve had a lot of demand for courses such as these for children, specifically.”

The Thursday, Aug. 4 class on being home alone started off with a review of the Heimlich Maneuver and other first aid skills learned on the first two days before Winters-Harrington launched into the day’s topic.

“You can do these classes separately because they are so different,” Winters-Harrington said, noting that one girl attending the class had not been present at the first aid classes.

Common sense

Winters-Harrington emphasized to the class the importance of calling 911 in an emergency and before contacting their parents.

“A lot of this is common sense,” she said, offering an illustration to consider — if your mom is in Braintree, who would be able to get there first in an emergency? Mom or the police?

She said two considerations families must weigh are whether a youngster wants to stay home alone and if they are mature enough to handle the responsibility. About half the class had been at home alone, but only a couple raised their hands when Winters-Harrington asked if they liked doing so.

In Massachusetts, there is no minimum age at which a child may lawfully be left home alone, but the national Safe Kids Campaign recommends that no child under age 12 should be left alone.

Winters-Harrington led a PowerPoint program punctuated by online videos, which raised discussion points.

The discussions centered on best practices should they be followed home: a stranger comes to the front door, they are approached online or via their cell phone by a stranger and what to share and not share on social media.

Hands shot up as the children asked questions or offered opinions during the discussions.

Should they find themselves being followed out along a road, with no access to a cell phone, Winters-Harrington told them to draw attention by screaming and making a scene.

“Are all people bad?” she asked. “No. There are good people who will help you.”

Scheduled check-in times with parents or a guardian and a family code word were advised, as well as learning from mom and dad how to operate household alarms and establish fire escape routes.

The “nevers” include opening the door to strangers.

An assertive attitude when the doorbell or telephone rings is a must, said Winters-Harrington, and if a stranger won’t leave the property, or tries contacting you via phone or social media, the solution is the same. Call 911.

After a break for a snack, topics included outdoor safety such as street smarts, what to do if one finds an improperly disposed of hypodermic needle, shopping mall and movie theater safety as well as water and ice safety.

Library gift

“We are so grateful to the program sponsor, Mutual Bank of Whitman, which provided $2,400,” Rounds said. “There was absolutely no cost to any of the children who took the class, the first or second session. … They have been huge community supporters of this library.”

Rounds stressed that extra educational and entertainment programs are funded exclusively through donations, not taxpayer dollars. Either the Friends of the Whitman Public Library, the Massachusetts Cultural Council and donors such as Mutual Bank make such programs possible.

“If we could secure funding we would absolutely offer another program like this,” she said.

Winters-Harrington also thanked Mutual Bank for its financial support as well as the library for use of the Community Room.

Future programs are planned in partnership with the Massasoit Community College’s Community Education programs for Brockton, Canton, Middleborough and Plymouth. For more information, look for the Safety Savvy Kids & Grown-Ups page on Facebook.

WHITMAN — With a necropsy scheduled next week, state and local officials are investigating the death of a German shepherd dog boarded over a weekend at Annie’s Clean Critters.

Animal Control, Whitman Police and the Animal Rescue League are investigating the death of the dog, named Maximus, owned by Abington resident Robert Foley.

The Board of Health is not involved in the investigation at this time, according to staff members there.

Foley stated in a memorial Facebook post about his dog that he was told by Annie’s Clean Critters owner Annie Brown Monday evening that the dog died of stomach bloat — after he had spent an entire day trying to contact someone at the business to pick up the dog after a weekend away with his family.

An official cause of death will be determined by the planned necropsy.

Foley wrote that he had gone to pick up Maximus at 10 a.m. Monday, but “there was not one person in the shop and they never returned voicemails, emails, or Facebook messages, only a sign on the empty store saying ‘will be back at 4.’” By 5:30 p.m., there was still no one there.

Foley said when he contacted an employee, they had Brown contact him and he was then told the dog had died between 3 and 5 p.m. He lamented that, in the time it took him to find someone at the shop, he could have taken Maximus to a vet where the dog could have had a “40- to 50-percent chance of survival.”

Foley also alleged that the business refused to show him a surveillance video of his dog’s stay. He said he had boarded his dog at Annie’s Clean Critters before and that “things seemed to go well,” which is why he tried them again.

Contacted by the Express Tuesday, Brown said she was “devastated for the family, but we have no comment at this time.”

Whitman Police Chief Scott Benton said he could not comment on an ongoing investigation, but confirmed humane authorities are investigating and had “taken action.”

According to published reports, Lt. Alan Borgal of the Animal Rescue League has inspected the business and found unsanitary conditions and a lack of shade at the Annie’s Clean Critters outdoor kennel.

Lt. Borgal did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Brown, whose business has operated for 14 years in Whitman has also been the East Bridgewater animal control officer for some 30 years.

“We have been made aware of an ongoing investigation in the neighboring town of Whitman involving a contractor of the town of East Bridgewater who provides animal control services,” East Bridgewater Police Chief Scott Allen said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “It is the procedure of our Police Department that we will not utilize these services pending the outcome of the investigation. The East Bridgewater Police Department is in contact with neighboring communities and law-enforcement agencies to provide animal control resources on a mutual aid basis in the interim.”

This is the second canine fatality at a Whitman pet care business this year. In May, a Bermese Mountain Dog named Bailey died after suffering seizures during a grooming visit at a Bedford Street business.

After the owners of that business had received threats, Whitman Police issued a press release on its determination that there had been no indication of abuse or neglect by that business.

“The rush to judgment and attacks directed at [the business] through social media as well as phone calls to the business is very disturbing,” the department stated at the time.

WHITMAN — They found little cause for elation in some of the dishes in “From Junk Food to Joy Food,” but are attracted to the possibilities ahead in “The Smitten Kitchen.”

Foodies and home cooks in the Whitman Public Library’s new Cookbook Club read, experiment with and prepare a recipe from a selected book to share and discuss at 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month.

It’s already a big hit.

“I was talking with two of our patrons who love to cook, because we love to read cookbooks, and we all said, ‘Gee, wouldn’t it be great to have a cookbook club?’” said Library Technician Ellen Donaghey, who facilitates the group along with Library Director Andrea Rounds, who launched it. “We’ve had a good response from the beginning. You come when you want to, but everybody who comes usually signs up for the next month.”

So far there are three men who attend along with the growing number of female members.

The club has tried Food Network star Ree Drummond’s “Pioneer Woman” recipes and “Good Cheap Eats,” by Jessica Fisher.

“Drummond’s book was a really good one,” Donaghey said. “Everything was step-by-step.”

At each meeting, members vote from about five cookbooks for the next month’s selection. Place cards are made for the food table with the name of the dish and its cook. Door prizes of donated kitchen utensils are awarded each month.

“We have been very fortunate to have everything from soup to nuts,” Donaghey said. “It’s a banquet — so much fun.”

As July’s featured cook book was “From Junk Food to Joy Food: All the Foods You Love to Eat, Only Better,” by nutritionist Joy Bauer, the buffet table groaned under more than 20 dishes — from appetizers to desserts — designed as lower-calorie versions of popular recipes.

Healthier versions of deviled eggs — “Angel Eggs” using hummus instead of egg yolks and mayonnaise — potato salad bites and cole slaw started off, followed by cold sesame noodles, zucchini linguine with pesto, chicken cacciatore and classic chili and topped off with desserts such as Boston cream pie parfait, no-bake key lime pie, chocolate crunch bars and mini chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing.

“This cookbook has taught me that you don’t ‘healthify’ baked goods,” a home cook named Rachel, who loves baking, said. “If you’re going to have a cupcake, you might as well just have a cupcake and have a salad tomorrow.”

Another cook, named Hannah, agreed.

“I have a fundamental philosophical difference with this cookbook,” Hannah said. “I think that healthy ingredients can be good, but not when they are pretending to be not-healthy ingredients.”

She made avocado toast because she felt it was the only recipe that stood on its own and not, “Let’s take a recipe you love and take out everything you love about it.”

Rachel made both the “Joy” cupcake recipe and a regular one, because both she and her family were put off by the use of black beans in the cake and avocado in the icing. She found it tasted “OK,” but found the batter hard to work with and the icing …

“When you look at [the “Joy recipe] you’re going to say, ‘That’s vanilla icing?’ Because it’s kind of a funky color,” Rachel said. “It’s green because it’s avocado.”

Another cook put of by her recipe was Library Trustee Roberts Ellis Drews who said the Eggs Benedict was more difficult than it should have been. Others had better luck, or liked their recipe’s healthier ingredients, and club members shared their opinions and experiences as they sampled the dishes.

“I’m writing a book about everything that can go wrong with me testing these recipes,” Ellis Drews said with a laugh as she related the challenge in finding thick enough Canadian bacon and broiling without it and the tomatoes burning after the directed four minutes. She also found the yellow bell pepper, called for in the Hollandaise, sauce did not microwave or blend well.

“I blended the heck out of the thing,” she said. “After I was done, I had to put it through the strainer, because it wouldn’t mush and you’re supposed to liquefy it. Well, it wouldn’t liquefy, let me tell you.”

She did find the finished recipe delicious, though.

Donaghey, who made yummy chicken enchiladas, was less enthralled with the “super-sweet” chocolate peanut butter cups in which all one could taste was the ripe banana called for in the recipe. She did save the components of that recipe, however, as she felt the chocolate part made a good fudge sauce and the nut butter-banana combination might be good on toast.

The two cooks who prepared the cold sesame noodles had no complaints and said they might prepare it again. The Boston cream parfait, chili and chicken cacciatore were also big hits.

A member named Julie liked the chocolate crunch bark, but used Rice Krispies instead of puffed rice, which she had trouble finding in smaller packages.

Each participant received copies of all the recipes prepared for the session so they could try dishes they liked at home.

Next month they try and discuss recipes from Deb Perelman’s “The Smitten Kitchen: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home Cook.” Billed as “fearless cooking from a tiny NYC kitchen,” the book by home cook, photographer and food blogger Perelman, “is all about approachable, uncompromised home cooking.”

Register for participation at the circulation desk, or call 781-447-7613.