On April 10, Patty Levine and Julie Goodman (along with their partners, Cheri and Onix), met with Girl Scout troop 1850 at Platte Woods United Methodist Church in Parkville to help them earn their "Animal Helpers" badge. The troop leader had discovered Mo-Kan while searching for resources to assist the girls.
The twelve member troop of 6th graders came prepared with a list of learning objectives and asked insightful questions, including:
1. What is involved with training your animal partner?
2. What traits do you look for in the puppies that show they will be good animal partners?
3. Are there are traits that a puppy might display that would eliminate their chances from being trained?
4. What are the traits of your animal partners that particularly suit them to be good partners?
5. What kind of preparation is needed for you to work with your animal partner? How involved is your training? How easy or difficult was it for you to learn to work with your animal partner?
6. If one of the scouts want to get involved in doing this type of volunteer work, what are the requirements they need to meet?
7. How has this volunteering changed your life? What surprised you about working with animal-assisted therapy that you never considered?
8. How has your therapy helped other people? Can you tell any stories?
The girls enjoyed "rewarding" the animal partners for their participation and many photos were taken. The troop leader and her twin daughters shared that they were "a true rescue family! We rescued our two dogs from the shelter, our two cats from an abandoned barn and (the girls in stereo) we were rescued, too!" ( The girls were adopted from an agency in Belarus the day before 911.)
The evening was a terrific opportunity to share the magic of Pet Partners and plant seeds for the future.
