How to Earn the Brownie Pets Badge

Earning the Pets badge with my Girl Scout Troop was a two-step process. First, we met at Target (in the Starbucks cafe there, actually), where we discussed some of the badge steps and then purchased items to donate to a local animal shelter.

Here's what we did to earn this badge:

1. Find out what care different pets need, 2. Keep a pet comfy, and 5. Feed a pet

I combined steps 1, 2, and 5 by engaging the girls in a discussion of their own pets. Some girls owned dogs, while others owned cats. I asked what their pets liked to play with and eat. I asked what pet chores the girls were responsible for, if any.

Originally, I had wanted to meet in an outdoor setting so that people could bring their pets, and we could do a pet parade. Rainy weather moved our meeting indoors, as did the fact that one of our Girl Scouts was afraid of dogs. (She ended up not attending anyway, but that's something to keep in mind for your troops.)

4. Make a pet feel loved

Then, we used strips of cardboard that I had previously cut out from Girl Scout cookie cases and glued them together to make a recycled cardboard cat scratcher. This got donated to the animal shelter. You can find more information on how to make this here.

3. Help a pet stay healthy and safe

For step 3, we talked about how to "help a pet stay healthy and safe". I explained that the girls were going to shop for items to donate to our local animal shelter, but first, I asked them if they knew what an animal shelter did (cares for animals and helps get them adopted) and how animals might end up in a shelter (people can't care for them anymore, animals are not kid-friendly, people realized a pet was too much responsibility). 

I also made sure to reinforce the fact that responsible people bring an unwanted pet to a shelter instead of just dropping the animal off on the side of the road. Sadly, people do that, but there are organizations, such as Stray Rescue in St. Louis, Missouri, that rescues and rehabs these abandoned animals. I showed the girls pictures of the dogs I had as a teenager - two dogs who had been rescued from the streets of St. Louis before finding their forever home with my family.

Then, we purchased items that were needed by the shelter: 

- wet and dry food for cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies

- bleach

- garbage bags

- paper towels

I also had a "How Much Does It Cost" worksheet that asked the girls to guess the prices of those items and then compare their guesses to the actual price tags. I think I just created the worksheet in Open Office. It wasn't anything fancy. 

Our meetings were on Thursday evenings, so in order to get the donations to the shelter, we had to meet up on a Saturday morning. We dropped off the donations and helped take one of the dogs for a walk. (Not many volunteer opportunities for 2nd graders due to insurance.) The girls enjoyed looking at all the animals at the shelter. My daughter was upset that we could not take home a guinea pig that day.

Has your troop earned the Brownie Pets badge? What did you do?