Girl Scouts Learn About Animals at Valatie Nursing Home

On Feb. 6, Girl Scouts Daisy Troop 1539 and Junior Troop 1038 visited The Grand Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Barnwell, a 236-bed skilled nursing facility in Valatie, N.Y. that provides rehabilitation and nursing services to patients who require either short- or long-term nursing care following hospitalization. The Girl Scout Troops are working to achieve their 3 Cheers for Animals Journey Badge, which focuses on learning about animals, how to care for them and animals’ impact on our communities. The Girl Scouts invited residents to join them in discovering the differences between therapy and service dogs. Georgia, a therapy dog from Ichabod Crane’s primary school and Honey, who works in the elementary/middle school through the Social Service Dog Program, were present for the informative evening. After the presentation, the young visitors read a book to the residents and completed a “get to know you” questionnaire. As part of their badge coursework, the Girl Scouts have toured and collected food for a local Humane Society and met with a sheriff and his K-9 partner and learned how they partner to keep our communities safe.