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My original plan was to take our troop to an animal shelter, but the reality is that we have a troop of 23 girls. Luckily, we had a veterinarian's office manager come to us! One of our co-leader's neighbor volunteered her time to speak to our girls! She was AMAZING! But like all meetings, these Brownies can't sit still for long. This meeting, we implemented mini dry erase boards so the girls aren't shouting at our guest speaker. It worked well... we had some shouting but she was extremely patient!
We have a pretty large troop of Brownies ages 7-9 years. So often, for some of the requirements, I'll break the girls into groups so they can get hands on with the requirement. We meet for 1.5hrs so I also time the stations. My co-leaders will man the station with a mom volunteer if needed. I walk around, get pictures, keep time and answer questions.
1. Find out what care different pets needMrs. Laurie, our guest speaker held a discussion with the group and talked about the basic needs of a pet. Food, clean water, and exercise. The girls were able to answer her questions on their dry erase boards. She talked about how our pets need to come to the veterinarian when they are sick and for check ups. She talked about the importance of their checkups and how they need medicine to prevent heartworms. She even had test tube examples of heartworms and tapeworms to show the girls! This was a hit!
2. Keep a pet comfy
Station 1
This was a Station for us. We made 3 large no sew blankets to donate to an animal shelter. The girls have small hands and tying knots is not easy. Keep that in mind when deciding on the quantities. Also, prep this in advance. The blanket does not come pre-cut but luckily the parents stick around and brought fabric scissors.
3. Help a pet stay healthy and safe & 4. Make a pet feel loved
Station 2
We did these requirements together. Mrs. Laurie brought her therapy dog and cat. The girls got to pet both animals and answer trivia questions from Mrs. Laurie's talk about how to keep pets healthy and safe.
The therapy dog was a wonderful way to promote well-being, empathy, and responsible pet ownership. We set clear ground rules for the interaction with the therapy dogs and emphasized the importance of gentle behavior, no sudden movements, and not feeding the dogs without permission. We had to define specific areas where the therapy dogs and Girl Scouts can interact. This helps manage the interaction and allows for controlled and supervised encounters.
They learned more about the therapy dog and how they help people.
5. Feed a pet
Station 3:
We home made dog treats with a treat maker. Each girl got to use a real knife, a cutting board, measuring cup. The treats were UGLY, but my dog ate them. We have nut allergies in our troop, so we made a chicken and rice dog treat.
The girls got to chop a rotisserie chicken into tiny pieces. Supervision is a must here!
Our volunteers focused on knife safety here. It was the first time many of these girls had used knives. I think we will make sure we use knives again when we do the Snacks Brownie Badge.
Chicken and Oat Dog Treats
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cooked and shredded chicken (unsalted)
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup chicken broth (low-sodium)
- 1 egg
- Water (as needed)
Instructions:
1. Preheat the Treat Maker: Preheat your dog treat maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
2. Prepare the Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, combine the shredded chicken, rolled oats, chicken broth, and egg. Mix the ingredients thoroughly.
3. Adjust Consistency: If the dough seems too dry, add water a tablespoon at a time until it forms a firm and workable dough.
4. Load the Treat Maker: Load the prepared dough into the treat maker. Follow the specific instructions for your treat maker model.
5. Bake the Treats: Close the treat maker and bake the treats according to the manufacturer's guidelines. Typically, it takes around 5-10 minutes, or until the treats are cooked through.
6. Cool and Serve: Allow the treats to cool completely before serving them to your dog. The treats should have a firm texture once cooled.
7. Store in an Airtight Container: Store the treats in an airtight container at room temperature for a week. If you want to keep them longer, refrigerate or freeze the treats.
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