By Monty Siekerman
Melanie Butterfield, an Ambassador Level Girl Scout from Troop 20301 in  Alger, has received the Gold Award, which is the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. Only 5% of Girl Scouts earn this award.

In order to achieve this goal Melanie had to first find a project that she was passionate about. She chose to organize a workshop for the public on Responsible Pet Ownership.

She investigated the topic thoroughly, then built a team. Her team was consisted of 2 speakers and 16 volunteers from her Girl Scout troop, her Venture Crew 601, and youth from Auglaize Bible Church. The total hours of the project were over 160 hours.

She created a plan. She saw a need with over populated animal shelters and many stray cats and dogs. She had hopes that her workshop would call attention to this issue, to consider what kind of responsibility came along with becoming a pet owner and cause people to consider fostering or adoption.

She presented her plan and gather feedback from the Girl Scout committee in hopes of being approved to proceed with her project.

Forty people attended the workshop on Oct. 21 at Community Health Professionals in Ada.

Her goal for this project was to educate and inspire others. By telling her story of how she became a responsible pet owner of 3 rescued dogs and many barn cats she hopes that others see the need to continue in her footsteps in caring for homeless animals.

Deb Helser, founder of Deb’s Dogs, told the workshop attendees about her organization and what is involved in rescuing and adopting pets. She also informed them about fostering pets which frees up room in her home for other animals. She informed the crowd of a fostering program within the local prison.

Dr. Emily Janovyak from Metz Petz, described basic dog care and the importance of spaying and neutering cats or dogs. She engaged the audience with questioning their awareness on pet issues and awarded correct answers with pet related prizes.

Following the scheduled speakers, Monty Siekerman described the progress being made on the Ada Dog Park.

Following the presentation there was a time for door prizes and meet and greet of many four legged friends.

Melanie is a 17-year-old homeschool senior and student at Rhodes State College. She is the daughter of Randy and Angie Butterfield.

Photo:  Melanie Butterfiekd with her 14-year-old dog Ellie during a Responsible Pet Workshop that she organized in October. Ada Icon photo.