The Badge Archive

Meeting idea – Most troops will be able to do this in a 90 minute meeting.

Note to Leaders – Many troops use the spirit of the badge thinking on Pets. The 5 basic requirements GSUSA has on their online shop and in their Badge Explorer give a very broad range of interpretation. This activity meets those broad interpretations. It does NOT meet requirements as read in the official GSUSA Booklet.

Item’s Needed:

• Adult volunteer to run each of the 5 stations.
• Toy medical tools (can be purchased at a dollar tree or thrift store) for Vet Visit station.
• Stuffed animal(s) for Vet Visit station.
• Whatever pet grooming tools you have on hand for Grooming station.
• (Option 1) Tootsie Rolls and Dog Poop bags for the Clean Up Pet station.
• (Option 2) Small “litter box”, cat litter, Tootsie Rolls for the Clean Up Pet station.
• Fleece fabric squares that are pre-cut to have a fringe that can be used to tie them together for a mini cat/dog bed in the Pet Beds station.
• Printed Recipes and Cereal “Treats” for Treat station.

Instructions:

• Set up the following five stations. You can go one by one through the stations as a troop or rotate groups.
• Have a bunch of small stuffed animal cats or dogs (you can buy the small cheap ones on Amazon). Scouts each pick one, name it, and put a ribbon collar on it.

Vet Visit

Items needed: toy medical tools (there are often doctor kits from dollar stores) and a stuffed animal

Use toy tools to give the stuffed animal a check up. Demonstrate how a vet checks the eyes, ears, coat, teeth, and feels their stomach and why. Each scout gets a turn while you discuss importance of things like vaccines and yearly exams.

Activity intended to cover step 1, Find out what care different pets need. GSUSA booklet requires: Learn what 3 different pets costs and how much space, food, and human interaction it needs.

Grooming

Items needed: Depends on which tools you have access to

Look at different grooming tools your families might have they can bring in for the scouts to see. Talk about how to care for animals and give a pretend bath to their new adopted pet.

Activity intended to cover step 3, Help a pet stay healthy and safe. GSUSA booklet requires: Learn about 3 pets possible health issues and how you would keep it healthy OR 3 pets grooming and try grooming OR take a dog on an exercise walk for one week.

Clean Up Pet – Option 1 – Dogs

Items needed: Tootsie Rolls and Dog Poop bags

Set up: Scatter tootsie rolls in the grass as fake dog poop.

Scouts must practice using poop bags to pick up the tootsie rolls. Leader decides if there is a certain number needed to be picked up, or if it’s just one tootsie roll per scout.

Activity intended to cover step 4, Make a pet feel loved. GSUSA booklet requires: Make a toy or make up a game and play with a pet OR learn how three different kinds of pets communicate their feelings.

Clean Up Pet – Option 2 – Cats

Items needed: Small “litter box”, cat litter, Tootsie Rolls

Set up: Place cat litter in “litter box”. Scatter tootsie rolls and some water (to make clumps like as if a cat had peed) in the “litter box”.

Scouts practice scooping out the “poop” and “pee” so the “litter box” is clean and ready for next use.

Activity intended to cover step 4, Make a pet feel loved. GSUSA booklet requires: Make a toy or make up a game and play with a pet OR learn how three different kinds of pets communicate their feelings.

Pet Beds

Items needed: Fleece fabric squares that are pre-cut to have a fringe that can be used to tie them together for a mini cat/dog bed.

Have scouts make a small cat/dog bed by tying the two felt fabrics together like they would if they were making a real one that would be much bigger.

Activity intended to cover step 2, Keep a pet comfy. GSUSA booklet requires: Make a bed/sleep nook for a pet OR take care of a pet cage/tank/litter box for 2 weeks OR muck out a horse stall 3 times.

Treat Station

Items needed: Printed Recipes and Cereal “Treats”

Look at dog or cat recipes for homemade snacks and vote which would be fun to try and make. Discuss what kind of nutrition their cat/dog would need and why treats should not be the main diet.

Have the scouts take some cereal to “feed” their new adopted animals (and they can eat them to make the treats disappear as if the stuffed animals were really eating them).

Activity intended to cover step 5, Feed a pet. GSUSA booklet requires: Feed your pet for two weeks OR feed someone’s pet for one week OR find out how much it costs to feed two different pets for one month.