MONROE – Julia Russell is a self-proclaimed animal lover.
Her family has a golden retriever and two cats they rescued, one of which they rescued from the Edison animal shelter during the course of her Girl Scout Silver Award project.
“My pets have many toys to play with and it makes me sad to think that some animals don’t have homes to live in, a family to love them or toys to play with. I wanted to be the change that allows these animals to have something to play with,” the Girl Scout cadette with Troop 83803 said.
Toys for Homeless Animals became the focus of the Monroe Township Middle School eighth grader, who has been scouting for eight years.
“My project was to create dog and cat toys for the animals at the Edison Municipal Animal Shelter. I made 40 cat beds and 460 toys for dogs and cats. For the dog toys, I wrapped a water bottle in a sock. Dogs enjoy chewing the water bottles because it makes crinkling sounds and keeps them occupied, especially when they are teething.
“Another toy that I made for the dogs were braided rope toys made from recycling old clothing. I cut strips from the old clothes and braided them together for the dogs to chew and pull on. For the cats, I made smaller versions of the braided rope toys.
“I also made coiled cat toys from pipe cleaners. Another cat toy was felt goldfish shaped toys that I stuffed with catnip and then sewed together. Additionally, I attached feathers to yarn which I hot glued to a stick to create a fun toy for the cats,” she said.
As part of her project, Julia also created an instructional pamphlet for the animal shelter, explaining step-by-step how to make each toy to be put on display at the shelter.
She will lead a Girl Scout Animal Toy Making Lesson from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at the middle school, 1629 Perrineville Road, Monroe.
“I wanted to create a more playful environment for the animals at the shelter. Kristen Briggs at the Edison Municipal Animal Shelter informed me of the need for animal toys and beds. I wanted to fill this need in the community. Also, I am a crafty person and knew I would enjoy making these hand-crafted toys because it is eco-friendly, animal-friendly and fun to create. Knowing that animals in the shelter would have toys to play with and have a comfortable place to sleep because of my project would make me very happy and proud,” Julia said.