DuPage County Animal Care & Control’s

Pet Care & Safety Patch Program

Leader’s Guide

Daisy Level Requirements

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DuPage County Animal Care & Control’s

Pet Care & Safety Patch Program Description DuPage County’s Pet Care & Safety Patch Program consists of three levels: Daisy, Brownie/Cub

Scout, and Junior Girl Scout/Boy Scout. At each level, the scouts participate in a variety of age-

appropriate activities designed to teach her or him about interacting safely and responsibly

with pets. All activities can be done at home or during troop meetings.

The last activity the troop will do is visit DuPage County Animal Care & Control for a tour

(please schedule a month in advance). To schedule a tour, the troop leader should contact

Humane Educator Andy at 630-407-2808 or Andrea.Salis@dupageco.org. Tours require a $25

donation and are offered Monday-Friday only. Waivers (see page 18) must be signed by parents

for each child participating, all adults present for the tour must also sign a waiver.

In order for the scouts to earn the Pet Care & Safety Patch the following must occur:

The scouts must complete all required activities prior to the tour date.

The scouts must come to the tour prepared to talk and answer questions about the

activities they did.

Leaders- Please review the following with your troop before introducing the activities:

What is DuPage County Animal Care & Control?

DuPage County Animal Care & Control is an open-admission animal shelter that accepts all

domestic animals. The staff of DCACC takes excellent care of all dogs, cats, and small animals in

their care and works very hard to find them new families to adopt them and give them a loving,

life-long home. DCACC also works to prevent and control rabies and to enforce state and

county animal control and welfare laws, and to teach responsible pet ownership.

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What is the difference between a domestic and a wild animal?

Domestic Wild

Lives in houses or on farms Lives in nature

Bred to help humans Not used to being around people

Requires a human to care for it Cares for itself (food, water, shelter, etc)

How do animals come to DuPage County Animal Care & Control?

Stray

o About 45% of animals at DCACC come in as strays

o Strays are checked for microchips (will be shown during the tour)

o Strays are held for 7 days to give an owner time to reclaim

o At the end of 7 days the animal can be evaluated for adoption

Owner Surrender

o 55% of animals at DCACC come in as owner surrenders

o After a behavioral assessment and veterinary exam they may be placed up for

adoption

Why might someone need to surrender (give up) their pet (have scouts come up with some

answers)?

Moving

Allergies

Landlord won’t allow

Cost of pet care

Too many pets

Behavior/lack of training

New baby

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DuPage County Animal Care & Control’s Pet Care & Safety Patch

Daisy Girl Scout Level

Daisy Girl Scouts must complete the activities listed below, as well as visit DuPage County

Animal Care & Control for a tour (please schedule one month in advance). Tours are offered

Monday-Friday and require $25 donation. DCACC iron on patches can be purchased for $2 a

scout. Please contact Andy Salis, Humane Educator and Special Events Coordinator, at 630-407-

2808 or Andrea.Salis@dupageco.org to schedule a tour.

Activity 1- Meeting a New Dog

Meeting a new dog should always be a fun experience. It is important for children to know how

to safely interact with dogs, especially when the dog is unfamiliar to them.

Review the worksheet on meeting a new dog safely with your troop (see page 5) and

have scouts color in the picture.

Have your troop practice meeting a new dog during a meeting using a stuffed dog or

have a scout pretend to be a dog. One person will pretend to be an owner while the

other troop members demonstrate how to follow the steps to stay safe.

Review how to meet a dog safely with your troop using the worksheet Megan Meets a

Mastiff (see page 6 ). Read through the scenario and have troop members answer

questions. (Answers: 1-B, 2-A, 3-B)

Activity 2- Understanding Animal Body Language

Animals cannot tell us with words how they are feeling, instead they have to use their bodies.

Being able to read a dog or cat’s body language is important so that we may interact with them

in a safe and friendly manner.

Pass out the attached dog and cat body language sheets (see pages 7-8).

Review dog and cat body language with your troop.

Show Daisies pictures of cats and dogs (see page 9-13) and have them decide how that

animal is feeling and if it is okay to approach or if it should be left alone.

o Pg 9- Friendly dog: tail relaxed, open/smiling mouth, relaxed ears and body

position

o Pg. 10- Frightened/upset cat: tense body, hackles raised, body arched, tail down

and fluffed

o Pg. 11- Scared dog: hunched posture, looking away, flattened ears, tail curled

under body

o Pg. 12- Angry dog: flat ears, tense posture, wrinkled brow, teeth bared

o Pg 13. Friendly cat: tail up w/ tip pointed, forward ears, relaxed body position

Complete worksheet (see page 14), have Daisies match the appropriate words with each

dog, they can color in the dogs on the worksheet.

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Activity 3- What is a Pet?

Domestic and wild animals are found in different places and have different needs. Knowing how

to differentiate between wild and domestic animals can help keep you and animals safe.

Ask Daisies: What is a pet? Have Daisies name a few examples of pets.

Ask: What are wild animals? Have Daisies name a few examples of wild animals.

A pet is an animal that lives with us that we take care of. A pet is a member of your

family. Ask: How do you treat members of your family? How do you treat your pet?

Pets can’t get things for themselves like a wild animal can, so we have to make sure they

get what they need. Ask: What are some things that pets need? (Answer: food, water,

shelter, grooming, training, love, exercise, veterinary care).

Have Daisies complete worksheet (see page 15)

o Dogs, cat, guinea pig, hamster- home

o Squirrel, raccoon, opossum, owl, deer, alligator- forest

WILD ANIMALS DOMESTIC ANIMALS

Live in nature Live in houses or on farms

Not used to being around people Bred to help humans

Ex: Dogs can herd sheep

Taken care of by people

Ex: People give their pets

food and water everyday

Examples

Coyotes

Deer

Raccoons

Opossums

Squirrels

Examples

Dogs

Cats

Guinea Pigs

Hamsters

Bunnies

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What is a Pet?

Draw a line from each PET to the house. Draw a line from each WILD ANIMAL to the forest.

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Purchase Your DuPage County Animal Care & Control Pet Care

& Safety Patches after your shelter tour.

Patches are available for $2.00 each and can be purchased after

the tour of our shelter.

Educational tours will review everything in this packet as well as give the kids a full “behind the

scenes” tour of our animal shelter which will include a discussion about DCACC and operations.

Tours are offered year round by appointment and are offered to groups totaling 15 or less.

There is a $25 donation required for each tour. Some groups elect to do a service project and

collect supplies for DCACC. Please see our wish list on the next page to learn more about the

types of items needed.

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Wish List

Spray bottles

Extracts/ essential oils

o Lavender

o Vanilla

o Peppermint

o Coconut

o Almond

o Chamomile

Ice cube trays

Bubble blowing machine

Bubbles

Water bottles (empty)

Puzzle feeder/ interactive feeder

Slow feeders

Cream cheese

Cereal boxes (any size)

Nyla-bones

Rope toys

Chicken broth

Empty yogurt containers

Fleece

Toilet paper/paper towel rolls

Catnip

Ping pong balls

Plastic eggs

Wind chimes

Disco ball

Feather & pipe cleaner toys

Bed Comforters & Blankets (new or

gently used, no sheets please)

Martingale-Style Dog Collars (all sizes)

Moist dog treats & training treats

Kitten Milk Replacement Formula

Freedom No-Pull Harness (sizes L & XL)

Baby wipes (any brand)

Long lasting dog chews (U.S. Made only

please)

Paper towels

Canned Dog & Cat food (any brand)

Children’s Books:

Donate books from the list below to be used in our Animal Tales story and activity time.

The Lorax By: Dr. Seuss

It’s Raining Pups and Dogs! By: Jeanne

Prevost and Amelia Hansen

How to Heal a Broken Wing By: Bob

Graham

Beautiful Joe By: Marshall Saunders

Hope: A Pig’s Tale By: Randy Houk

Chained By: Lynne Kelly

Earth heroes: Champions of Wildlife By:

Carol Mainor and Bruce Mainor

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