Girl Scout Troop Draws
Attention To Local Animal Shelter

By Carla M. Collado
Staff Writer

If Heather Mauldin and her fellow Girl Scouts from troop 606 hadn’t volunteered to help, Noah’s Ark Animal Rescue might still be just another animal shelter few people know about.

But with the colorful, 100-foot mural that’s now splashed on the side of the Noah’s Ark building on Redondo Avenue and Anaheim Street, it’s almost impossible not to notice it.

Mauldin and her troop had been volunteering for about two months at the animal rescue last fall, working toward the Girl Scout Silver Award (the highest award for Girl Scouts ages 11-14). They regularly walked dogs in the dog park and had donated $400 worth of supplies, but still wanted to do more, according to Mauldin.

The staff at Noah’s Ark, which had just recently opened at that location in Long Beach, had a wish list of things for the shelter — a mural being one of them. Mauldin, a 14-year-old student at the Orange County School of the Arts, quickly offered her artistic talents and agreed to lead the project with the rest of the troop.

“It’s fabulous,” said Alexiea Kyrklund, director of Noah’s Ark, “the most wonderful thing that any volunteer has done.”

Once Mauldin designed the mural, the group enlisted the help of others, including five other Girl Scout troops, OCHSA students, parents and teachers. It took a total of 75 volunteers and 800 volunteer hours from March 5 to April 23 to complete the mural.

Debbie Mauldin, Heather’s mom and troop leader, said that raising money for the project was a major community effort. The Girl Scouts gave $200 of Girl Scout Cookie money, which they had been collecting for two years and had planned to use on an end-of-year trip. Home Depot donated $250 worth of supplies,

Life Paint donated $500 worth of supplies as well as a graffiti sealer, Handy Nabor Rentals donated scaffolding and Smith Paints gave them a discount on paint.

After completing the mural — which features a 40-foot ark and many of the actual pets from the shelter — Heather Mauldin said she feels proud of it.

“It turned out really a lot better than I would’ve expected,” she said, “especially since it was painted by a bunch of kids.”

One of the main reasons the group decided to do the project in the first place was to help Noah’s Ark’s efforts in rescuing pets from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.

Noah’s Ark was one of the first animal rescue groups to head to Louisiana after the storm hit, according to Kyrklund. Staff members made two trips in September and brought back about 40 animals.

Noah’s Ark is a nonprofit, no-kill shelter and takes in pets that typically are considered un-adoptable, for example, elderly, injured or sick animals. In seeing the shelter’s dedication for unwanted pets, the Girl Scouts said they hoped that the mural would draw more people to Noah’s Ark.

“With the mural, people can see it (the shelter) now,” Mauldin said. “I’m hoping that it will get more attention, that more animals will get adopted.”

So far, Kyrklund said the mural has indeed been important in helping people find the shelter. In addition, more people have donated supplies such as bedding for the animals, and more people have offered to volunteer there.

To see the mural or check out their animals, go to Noah’s Ark Animal Rescue, which is located at 1333 Redondo Ave., on the corner of Anaheim Street.

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