Mattituck’s Maddalena Mineo achieved Girl Scout’s highest honor today when she received her Gold Award after completing a project involving an agility course, built for the North Fork Animal Welfare League’s shelter dogs.
The Kaitlyn D. Doorhy Agility Course was dedicated to Kait, who lost her life while away at college. Kait, who would turn 21 tomorrow, was a fellow Girl Scout ambassador.
Maddalena, 17, said she embarked upon the independent project after earning her Bronze and Silver Awards because she hopes to be a veterinary technologist. An avid equestrian with two horses, Kato and Twister, Maddalena said she’s built agility courses not just for her horses but for dogs, too — and felt the project felt like the right fit because it would benefit the shelter and help homeless dogs find their forever families.
The dedication of the course took place at the NFAWL’s Peconic location on Peconic Lane, where Maddalena received her award and a commendation from Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski.
Kait, Maddalena said, was close to her family and a young woman who epitomized the Girl Scout values, dedicating her life to tireless community service. She chose the project not only for the pups, but to honor her friend.
During the ceremony, Maddalena thanked her family, Scout leaders and elected officials, including Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell, for their support and for attending.
John Stype, representing Krupski, said the project took a great deal of work and added that it would stand for years, a testament to Maddalena’s dedication — and something she could come back to see, years later.
One of Maddalena’s Girl Scout leaders, Lynn Stevens — the other is Maddalena’s mother, Maria Theresa Mineo — said the project took over 80 hours and was completed almost single-handedly by Maddalena, who worked for months this winter not only to garner donations but to create the course in her family’s basement.
“It was a lot of work and it’s nice to see the fruits of her labor come together,” she said.
Two dogs were brought out to test the course by Gina Rizzo, NFAWL director of training and behavior, and NFAWL Executive Director Gillian Pultz. The course, comprised of ramps, maze and tunnels, will not only provide exercise but also socialization and the chance to train dogs with an eye toward greater adoptability.
Looking back on all the years spent together in Scouts, Stevens remembered the time Maddalena spent in Troop 2932, recalling projects made up of glitter and glue, and a young woman who “got messy with the rest of us” and reached for the stars. Maddalena, she said, earned her Bronze Award for a rock garden at Bailie Beach and her Silver, for a Veterans Memorial Mosaic at Veterans Memorial Park in Mattituck.
Patti Burns, Girl Scout service unit coordinator on the East End, said Maddalena was one of 80 girls receiving their Gold Award in Suffolk County as well as two other local girls, Emily Talbot and Emily Gatz, from Southold.
Mineo said she is “very proud of her daughter,” not only for the hours of dedication to her project but for honoring Kait; the two families are close. “When she said she wanted to dedicate her project to Kait, I cried,” Mineo said.
Darla Doorhy, Kait’s mom, said Maddalena is a “beautiful girl” who’s earned Scouting’s highest honor.
“This is an Angel Act, not just for Girl Scouts, but for Kait’s Angels,” she said.
Kait’s Angels is a non-profit organization formed to help keep Kait’s Legacy alive through acts of kindness and philanthropy.
