MANASQUAN — Three Manasquan Elementary School (MES) eighth-grade Girl Scouts were recently awarded the prestigious Silver Award for training one of their family dogs, Rockett, to successfully become a therapy dog.
Marisa Martell, Scarlett Shaad and Annabel Mantone embarked on the 50-hour community service project in an effort to earn the second-highest Girl Scout award.
Rockett, a six-year-old miniature Goldendoodle already had a natural knack for lighting up the room, as most miniature Goldendoodles do. However, the MES students wanted Rockett’s infectious energy to benefit more than just the Shaad house and embarked on a journey to license the family dog as an official therapy dog.
After identifying Rockett’s mission as the subject for their service, which could be attributed to Troop 557 Leader and Scarlett’s mother Suanne’s profession as a therapist, the pooch embarked in a 15-week program at Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs in Tinton Falls.
Rockett scored to the moon, at some points excelling beyond his four-legged classmates and even testing out of specific training due to his natural charisma. Throughout Rockett’s journey, the three Manasquan Scouts assisted in his annual training routines, reinforcing commands and walking the doodle throughout town.
After a year and half of preparation and 50 hours of work towards the project, in March, the three Scouts and their companion got some great news: Rockett was officially a certified therapy dog.
Scarlett, who has the fortune of housing Rockett, said, “I always knew Rockett was something special from the day I got him. I knew he would be able to benefit our community in some way and we figured out he’d make the best therapy dog. He really helps people smile, relax and be happy.”
Once the first pillar of the project was complete, the Girl Scouts paraded the pup throughout the local area, passing on Rockett’s infectious smile at the Manasquan Public Library, The Phoenix Recovery Center in Belmar, Town Square in Brick to socialize with seniors and even to Scarlett’s grandmother in the hospital.
In addition to sharing Rockett with the community, the girls developed a detailed brochure to go along with the project. The brochure, which was the culmination of many hours of research, details the benefits of a therapy dog, the many positive ways Rockett can light up a room, a background on the classes the pup attended and information about stress alleviation through animal therapy.
“This was a challenging project, but a rewarding experience,” Marisa said. “I enjoyed working on this project because it can help others in my community in the future.”
Following the successful completion of Rockett’s training and the detailed accompanying brochure, the three Scouts were recognized for their accomplishments in November and were awarded the prestigious Silver Award.
Along with the award, the girls received individual recognition through a proclamation and signed personal letter from Gov. Phil Murphy, congratulating them on their accomplishments.
The trio was also recognized at the Dec. 2 Manasquan council meeting, where they received individual proclamations for community leadership from Mayor Mike Mangan and words of encouragement from members of the council.
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