Do You REALLY Want to Join the Dog Scouts?

More than 90% of our members have no local troop affiliation. They just wanted to become a member of an organization whose goals are to promote responsible dog ownership and educate people about the importance of the human/canine bond. If you are fortunate enough to have a troop in your area, your affiliation with Dog Scouts of America entitles you to become a member of that troop.

For some people, just knowing that they are part of a national organization with the mission of promoting responsible dog ownership and the human/canine bond is enough for them to want to send in their $25.00, $50.00, or $100.00 membership fees. If people want to align themselves with an organization because they truly believes in the cause, they don t need much in return except to know that they support the same worthwhile mission, and are a part of this worthy organization. This is why people spend billions each year, joining such organizations as the ASPCA, Delta Society, National Handicapped Sports and Recreation Organization, Association of Pet Dog Trainers, or similar groups. It s because they want to belong to a group with which they feel a kinship, and whose mission they want to further with their financial contribution.

Other people wish to join just to receive the newsletter and be kept abreast of what other people are doing around the country, and how Dog Scout members, on a local level, are doing their part to promote the Mission of DSA.

For some people, the backpacking certification program alone is what originally gets their interest, and they join to be able to earn the titles provided.

Then, there are those who come in contact with a local troop before they actually know much about the national organization and what it does, and they join as a requirement to participate in the local troop activities. Many times, these members need help understanding the importance of their affiliation with the central organization. They are wondering why they have to pay fees to DSA in addition to paying dues to Troop #100, for example.

DSA, the National Organization, is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) charity. Paying your annual membership dues helps to sustain the central organization, which is behind everything the troops do. The monies received by DSA go directly for goods and services that the person receives, or is eligible to receive, as an active member of Dog Scouts of America:

The Dog Scout Scoop newsletter a by-monthly publication of DSA

Official DSA membership card

Eligibility to earn backpacking titles and certificates on your dog(s)

Eligibility to join a local troop

Eligibility for other member programs and services

Limited Liability Insurance during Dog Scout activities

The membership fees cover the actual costs of providing these goods and services, and in some cases, fall short. The fee breaks down as follows: $17.00 for the expenses involved in delivering the newsletter, $8.00 for the expense of processing your membership, adding you to the data base, printing up your membership card, and sending you the logo decal.

Expenses that are not passed on to the individual member include $5.00 for each time a certificate is made up and mailed out to a member, ongoing administrative costs involved in

leadership training and troop development, ongoing costs of maintaining an educational web site as a public service to all dog owners, limited liability Insurance premiums, incidental costs for outings hosted by the national organization (for which nothing is charged to members), and incidental expenses for other member services, like the photo contest, and maintaining the DSA discussion list and website. Private and corporate donations and fundraisers make up the difference.

Your Leader will explain any costs to you. There may be additional, local troop fees, to cover such things as a troop newsletter, or incidental expenses necessary for maintaining a troop. Each troop s fees, if any, may be different, depending on the costs involved. If your leader is able to disseminate information via the internet, for example, it will help defray mailing and telephone costs involved in maintaining troop functions.

If your leader has reached the point in training where he or she is certified to administer the Dog Scout certification process, then you will be eligible to try out for the Dog Scout Merit Badge. This will mean that your dog becomes a Dog Scout, and can use the letters, DSA after his or her name. With these certifications comes the eligibility to earn certain merit badges without traveling to St. Helen, Michigan to attend the Dog Scout Camp. Check with your Leader/Evaluator to see which badges he or she is certified to offer. If you wish to take the Dog Scout certification test, the cost is $35.00, paid when you have achieved certified status.

It breaks down as follows:

$5.00 goes directly to your Scoutmaster for organizing, monitoring, evaluating, and certifying the DSA certification checkout process. $30.00 goes to the national headquarters for the: Official DSA Bandanna, Official DSA laminated clip-on I.D. tag, Administrative costs and record keeping, Official DSA Dog Scout merit badge patch and mailing expenses.

As a troop member, taking the Dog Scout Certification Program is OPTIONAL, as are any additional merit badges. Additional Merit Badges that you become eligible to achieve will, of course, have similar fees involved, also. These fees represent the bare costs of what it takes to bring these goods and services to the members. See How a badge is born on the DSA website for the break down of the costs involved in developing and providing a badge.

Do you truly believe in and support our mission? Do you wish to have a well-trained dog and be a responsible owner, so that people everywhere can observe the joys of all that those things entail? Do you want to be able to have dogs accepted in more places because of their degree of training and exemplary behavior? Do you wish to have the title, Dog Scout, connected with your dog, attesting to your responsibility and the dog s good behavior?

By passing the Dog Scout test, the owner has reached a new level of achievement with his or her dog. Many people from the pet dog sector have nothing to compare it with, such as competition obedience, for example. To achieve a similar title with an obedience registry, like the AKC, UKC or SKC, you would first have to register your dog ($35.00+). This makes your dog eligible to compete. Then, after spending a lot of money on training classes and dog club memberships, you can enter your first trial ($20.00+). This entitles you to the privilege of showing your dog to a trained and licensed obedience judge. If you re having a good day, and things go well, you pass. Hooray. Now you only have to do this on two more occasions ($40.00+), if you are lucky enough to pass each time. Or, you may continue showing for many dozens of times before your dog gets it all right on the same day again, and it could cost you hundreds of dollars. But, you will have a piece of paper saying that your dog is obedient, and can use some letters after his name. And, this piece of paper entitles you to try for the next level of obedience.

For people familiar with the costs involved in getting an obedience title, the cost of testing for and achieving DSA status and all it represents, is a drop in the bucket. Previously, the only way to have your dog become a Scout was to pay $750.00 to attend dog scout camp and be tested there. Now you can be tested without traveling great distances and enrolling for the whole camp, by becoming involved in a local troop with a trained Scoutmaster. The same is also true of the additional merit badges. Where people used to have to come to camp to earn the merit badges, members can now be checked out by a certified Dog Scout Evaluator for only $25.00 per badge (training prior to certification not included).

Dog Scouts of America is constantly at work behind the scenes, and is responsible for setting up the standards, granting the title, training your leader, offering you the privilege of belonging to a local troop, keeping records on all of your dogs, and providing information to people with dogs everywhere who want to have better behaved pets and enhance the bond people have with their dogs. We re glad you want to join us.

We hope you will enjoy belonging to an organization whose mission is teaching responsible dog ownership, promoting the concept of socialize, train, neuter and contain, and helping improve the public image of working dogs and companion dogs.

This flyer was developed as a public service, to help people decide whether or not they would truly like to become a part of our organization. It was meant to answer questions about the need for payment for services provided.

If you would like to make a donation to Dog Scouts of America, your gift is tax deductible. All other program products and services are provided on a non-profit basis, so funds given in exchange for membership or merit badges are not tax deductible.

www.DogScouts.com Copyright ) Dog Scouts of America 5068 Nestel Road St. Helen, MI 48656 (989) 389-2000