Date: Fri 05-Feb-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: JAN

Quick Words:

dog-pound-wickman-mattegat

Full Text:

Scout Project To Benefit The Dogs In Newtown's Pound

BY JAN HOWARD

Diana Wickman thinks all dogs deserve good homes so she has taken on a Cadette

Girl Scout Silver Award project to help them find some.

Diana, 13, an eighth grader at Newtown Middle School and a member of Cadette

Girl Scout Troop 656, has received the approval of the Police Commission and

Dog Warden George Mattegat for an adopt-a-pet project to help the Newtown Dog

Pound place abandoned or lost dogs.

"I love animals, and I feel bad for the dogs in the pound and think they

should have homes," Diana said recently.

Diana said she became more aware of the need for homes for the dogs after some

friends adopted pets from the pound.

She is an animal lover who proves she cares. She has worked with a local dog

breeder as a volunteer for four years. When puppies are born, Diana helps with

their care and leash training.

Diana said the breeder wants the puppies to be handled as soon as possible

after they are born. "They have better dispositions if they are in the hands

of children as soon as possible," she said.

Diana also is involved in the dog show circuit as a junior handler with her

family pet, a collie. She also walks dogs for neighbors and provides pet

sitting care when people go away on vacation.

"We walk and play with the dogs," Diana said. She has taken care of many pets,

from dogs to cats to rabbits.

Peggy Wickman, Diana's mother and Girl Scout leader, said when a girl is

working on a Silver Award, the leader's role becomes more of adviser than as a

leader. "We step back and let the girl be more in control," she said. "The

Silver Award is an individual project."

Mr Mattegat will be Diana's consultant on her project.

Under the guidelines set up for her project, Diana will help the pound and

area veterinarians to place unwanted dogs in new homes. The pound is located

behind the recycling center on Ethan Allen Drive off Route 25.

Diana will visit the pound every Saturday morning until June to see if there

are any new dogs available for adoption. If so, she will photograph each of

them. After getting acquainted with them so she can describe their

personalities and character traits, she will do a write-up about each of them.

She will also retake photographs of dogs that were not adopted from previous

weeks and resubmit information on them. She will then bring the film and

write-ups to The Newtown Bee for publication the following week.

The write-up will be a description of the dog, including the breed, if she can

guess it, and any special markings or character traits the dog has. In some

cases, Diana may get to name the dogs.

If the program is successful, Diana hopes a web page could be developed to

gain more exposure for the dogs and make it possible for them to find homes

sooner.

She hopes the program will continue after she steps down from it in June.

The Girl Scout Silver Award is the highest award a Cadette Girl Scout can

earn. It recognizes efforts in a large range of Girl Scout and community

experiences.

The first four requirements of the award build skills in career possibilities,

leadership skills and making a commitment to improving yourself. These

requirements involve various interest projects patches, including the Dreams

to Reality Patch, The Cadette Challenge, Career Exploration, and Leadership,

and can take up to two years to complete.

These requirements have to be met prior to the fifth requirement, the actual

Silver Project.

The Silver Project builds upon Girl Scouting accomplishments and represents a

personal plan of action for helping others. The project itself has five steps:

deciding on which values, experiences and skills to put into action; using

personal strengths to help others in the community; identifying the people who

can help, guide and work with you; creating a time line and a budget; and

carrying out the plan.