Friday, July 18, 2025
A dog’s collar now hangs on a glossy rainbow bridge that sits at the entrance of Bellmore’s Newbridge Road Dog Park.
This bridge, installed by members of Girl Scout Troop 900 as a part of their Bronze Award Project, is a memorial for deceased pets made by the members of Girl Scout Troop 900. The Bronze Award Project is designed to challenge young scouts to meet new people, develop confidence and to make a positive impact in their community.
The troop held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the park’s new feature on June 13.
The scouts of Troop 900 are Audriana Petruccelli, Saraphina Dinin, Caylen Schauder, Gabriella Montano, Julia Francis, Julianna Hartwig, Maya Smith, Lilyanna Massari and Samara Grunes, all fifth-grade students at Shore Road Elementary School.
“I think it's amazing that we got to donate all this stuff; I think that the dog bridge is amazing,” Montano said. “Thank you so much everybody in Bellmore for pitching in and helping us to make this accomplishment.”
“We've been having fun — that feels nice, and this is exciting,” Dinin agreed. “The process of making this bridge was wonderful. It was a wonderful feeling to make this bridge that will make owners feel better about their past animals.”
Inspiration for the project came from a similar pet-memorial installation in Lake Lure, North Carolina. There were no local sites that paid respect to fluffy family members, which drove the scouts to create their own.
“We thought it would be nice to have something here in Long Island, so a lot of people who live closer to Long Island can come and put their collar on it,” Schauder said. “I can't believe it happened.”
Troop Leader Carole Kuhn-Petruccelli expressed her gratitude to all of the local businesses who supported the troop’s progress.
“We'd like to thank Aboff's Paints in Bellmore for generously donating the paint and supplies to paint our bridge,” she said. “Thank you to Mutts & Butts in Merrick for their generous donation of a collar and tag and thank you to Hicks Nurseries in Westbury for generously donating an angel puppy statue to place at the entrance of our bridge.”
“With all of these generous donations, we were able to purchase and donate over $100 of dog and cat toys to the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter,” she added.
Scout Audriana Petruccelli helped lead the troop's project.
"I loved the idea that for all the dog owners who have felt the pain of losing a pet, our project could ease it," she said. "It makes me feel wonderful that we are making a difference in people's lives."
To support the scouts’ cause, the Town of Hempstead also donated new equipment to the park. Town councilman Chris Schneider attended the ribbon cutting.
“We were pleased to work with them to install it here,” he said. “What a great way for them to give back to the community. Pets are part of the family, and when you lose a pet, it's devastating. You always cherish them. This is a way that people can now honor their pets, and it's all thanks to the great work of the Girl Scouts.”
Scouting is a program that helps prepare young people to become future community leaders.
“Whenever we hear about them, we try to go to support them, because scouting is a critically important program for the kids,” Schneider said. “I'm always happy to support, and this is a great service project, and it's awesome to see these girls given back to the community.”
