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Centennial Girl Scouts show their "puppy power"
From Stacey M., Troop 1802
Over a year ago the 11 girls of Junior Troop 1802 were trying to determine what to do for their Bronze Award project. The girls knew they liked working with animals. They had learned about all kinds of animals as they completed their Horse Fan and Pet Care Badges. They also took a special trip to PETCO to learn even more about different animals.
In the fall, the girls decided to combine their love for animals and their leadership skills to form their Bronze Award. The girls determined that it would be great to help younger Girl Scouts learn about how dogs can help humans. So the troop Bronze Award would be to help Daisies and Brownies earn their Puppy Patch, a patch curriculum set up by Canine Partners and Girls Scouts of Colorado.
In order to have a great patch activity, the troop proceeded to learn more about service dogs by visiting Canine Partners and creating the much needed door pulls. These pulls are a lanyard made of rope that the dogs use to open doors. The girls spent their cookie money and about 20 minutes per pull to create more than 30 pulls. However, the troop did not stop there. The girls organized a collection drive for dog items. On a Saturday in March, they delivered more than 200 bags, donated by King Soopers, to their local neighborhood. The next Saturday, they collected the donations. What a surprise!! The donations filled the entire back end of a covered pickup truck.
To make sure that the girls had enough background and knowledge to lead the patch event, the troops took another trip to the Eye Spy council event. At this event, they learned even more about how dogs help humans. Finally, after all their knowledge gathering and event planning, the troop held their Puppy Patch event.
The event was extremely successful! The Brownies and Daisies earned their patch, enjoyed the Scooby snacks and loved to pet the dogs provided by Canine Partners. The donations gathered at the event and on the Saturday in March were given to Canine Partners and Colorado Puppy Rescue. All of the participating organizations were greatly appreciative of the girls’ efforts. Most of all, the troop felt great about all they had accomplished and what they were able to give back to the community.