Here at Dunston Lodge, Chesterfield’s premier dog kennels, we just love quirky dog stories. And this one really made us smile.
The Dog Scouts of America was established 19 years ago, and now has a membership of over 1,000 dogs. They live by their Dog Scout motto to help others and can work towards no less than 80 badges, awarded for community service, Frisbee, sign language, first aid and manners, to name a few!
“Our dog’s lives are much shorter than ours – let’s help them enjoy their time with us as much as we can.”- Dog Scout Owner’s Motto
The Dog Scout values include responsibilities to the dogs, community and to each other. They recognise the importance and benefits of the relationship between people and companion animals, and their aim is to enrich this bond positively.
The Dog Scouts Mission and Vision are:
“To improve the lives of dogs, their owners, and society through humane education, positive training, and community involvement.”
“We envision a future where dogs remain in happy, lifelong homes with responsible owners. In this vision, all dogs are seen as a useful and welcome part of the community, because people take responsibility for socializing, training, containing, and caring for them.”
Founder, Lonnie Olson says: “In Dog Scouts, people help dogs, dogs help people, and the whole community benefits.” The first badge is the only one that is compulsory, for basic obedience. It’s called ‘The Dog Scout Badge’.They even have weeklong summer camps!
To find out more about this slightly odd, but undoubtedly brilliant organisation, take a look at http://dogscouts.org/