A Memorial Fund in honor of Dog Scouts who have gone ahead to the rainbow bridge...
Each year, Dog Scouts of America gives a scholarship to attend Dog Scout Camp. The scholarship is named in honor of a Scout who passed away the year before. For the year 2000, the Yogi Mazzenga and Danger Stewart Memorial Scholarship was the first given to a deserving camper.
Criteria for the scholarship is that the dog is particularly deserving of getting a trip to camp and that the camper has a financial hardship due to the needs of the dog. Submissions for this are reviewed by the DSA Board of Directors and their decision is final. If no qualifying applications are submitted for a particular year, funds will carry over to the following year. Donations for this fund are greatfully accepted and are often given in recognition of a special dog who has passed over the rainbow bridge.
You couldn't find a more perfect example for a recipient than Yogi Mazzenga. He was our first scholarship recipient. Yogi's mom, Donna Mazzenga phoned me one day after reading about Dog Scout Camp in a newspaper article. She wanted to know if there was some way that she could attend the camp "for just a few days," because she couldn't afford the entire camp stay. She felt it was very important for her boy, Yogi to get a chance to attend this fun sounding doggie vacation before he died, as he was ill with osteosarcoma (a cancer of the bone.) I encouraged Donna to write down her reasons for wanting to come to camp and why she felt she should receive the Mindy Lou Duman Memorial Scholarship.
Her story brought tears to my eyes. Poor Yogi had been stricken by one kind of illness and another, resulting in expensive surgeries and chemotherapies, since he was young. He was only 5 years old, but the emotional and financial strain would have made most "parents" decide to put their pet to sleep. The Mazzenga's efforts were heroic. They missed work to stay home with their beloved boy, to the point of placing their jobs in jeopardy. Fortunately, their employers were understanding. If ever there was a family that deserved to come to camp with their dog, it was this one.
Yogi attended camp, and had a wonderful time. He met lots of "puppies" and he earned his water rescue merit badge. His parents, Rick and Donna were so grateful for the opportunity for their dog to have a chance to experience this fun adventure before he died. The following year, their finances were not as low, and the family made plans to attend camp again, if Yogi was well enough. They even made a large donation to the scholarship fund. But, as camp time approached, Yogi was too ill, and they had to bail out. Yogi passed away right after camp that summer, bless his heart. The following year we named the scholarship after him, and after another one of our scouts that passed that year: Danger Stewart.
Danger attended camp with her sisters, Jinx and Indy two years ago. Since that time, cancer had taken one of her front legs at the shoulder. She attended camp this past year, and proved that a three-legged dog CAN keep up. She swam in the lake and everything! I don't know how she did it! But, last fall, cancer took her from us, and we honored her, with Yogi, for this scholarship. And the tradition lives on each year, with the scholarship in the name of a great Dog Scout who is waiting for his parents and friends at the bridge.
You can make a donation to the scholarship fund by contacting the DSA treasurer. You can do so as a memorial to a beloved pet or human. Your memorial will be printed in the newsletter, as a donation to the Dog Scout Camp Scholarship Fund in loving memory of ________ (your loved one).
If you are financially unable to attend camp due to unusual circumstances, or have a dog which you feel is particularly deserving of attending camp, please write us a few paragraphs explaining your situation, and you will be considered as a recipient of the scholarship. The scholarship includes full tuition for one person with one dog to attend camp ($650. value). Send your essay to Dog Scouts of America,
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Author Unknown
There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth. It is called the
There is only one thing missing. They are not with the special person who loved them during their lives. So, each day, they run and play until the day comes when one suddenly stops playing and looks up! The nose twitches! The ears perk up! The eyes are staring! And, this one suddenly runs from the group!
You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet, you take him or her in your arms and embrace. Your face is kissed again and again and again, and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet.
Then you cross the rainbow bridge together, never again to be separated.
It is hard to face the grief of losing your pet. But he will be waiting for you at the rainbow bridge...
The loss of a heart-dog
Author Unknown