Aussie mascot lost in MI - any ideas?

[ozemu]

Hi, we sent our mascot (toy koala0 on a long tour of the USA. Started Feb 02. It got lost in Eastpoint MI about Apr this year and was supposed to go to Red Feather as the last stop. She (GS ldr) stopped answering emails and even phone calls (Screening service) from Aust and US hosts.

 

I have contacted Council HQ and they have their 'membership specialist' hunting down the GS leader responsible. Apparently she has had overstays with other mascots. No word now for a few weeks. Any ideas on what I might do next? Is Council the end of the road? Will Christmas cause a delay while Council staff have holidays?

 

If I lived within 1000 miles I would drive around over Christmas and camp at the door but that is not realistic from here. There are a lot of swap badges, photos, literature etc with the bear as she had over 10 hosts beofre this one. Okay - that's the end of my gripe.

[acco40]

Haven't seen any Koalas in my area lately. Eastpoint (formerly East Detroit and didn't like the connotations of having Detroit in thier name so they changed it) is about 30 mi from home (approx 50 km for those who do it right).

 

The Girl Scouts of Metro Detroit, which includes Eastpoint, can be reached at 313-870-2600. Good luck. Have you looked in the eucalyptus trees?

[ozemu]

wow - small world.

 

I have been in email contact with GS of Macomb County - Otsikita Council Inc. and am waiting their try. They are being sympathetic and I hope for success.

 

Is GS of Metro Detroit another council or a level up? I was very confused as I only had www to research and I dont really understand your structure. Actually thought her host was BSA for a while. Duh!

 

The absence (I expect) of gum trees may have put Aussie to hibernation in MI. On a recent bike hike we saw a mum and bub koala. The patrol that was formed that weekend is led by a girl PL and they chose koala as their name. All this is incidental to our mascot - most of the kids in the Troop have not seen her as we have had a big increase since she left almost two years ago.

[dsteele]

I have a brother-in-law who lives in the Detroit Area. He, as a bulldog, makes me look like a cat! If you private message me with the address of the person who has the mascot, I'll be happy to sick the brother-in-law on it, or go get it myself if I happen to be in the area.

 

No need to wait for emails or phone calls. I can assure you we will not break and enter, but if it's to be found and we have the addresses, will will retrieve the beasty for you.

 

Dave

[Campfire Fairy]

DS, a big thumbs up for being involved in the Girl Scout section of this forum! I think that is very cool of you.

 

Ozemu, good luck finding your koala I think the traveling mascot is a really neat idea (I can't believe I used the word neat... usually I'm so much more creative with my vocabulary... *is shamefaced*).

 

I learned something interesting today... koala bears don't drink water! I think that's weird. But then again, I don't drink water... so I guess I'm weird.

 

...oh well, it's nothing I haven't heard before.

[frankj]

Oz: I hope they are able to locate the koala. The native wildlife that will always be number one for me in Australia is ... the kookaburra. Please correct my spelling if wrong. I never laughed so hard as when a bunch of these got going one morning where we were camped, and they WOULD NOT STOP. That a bird could make that much noise, and make it sound as funny as it sounded, was amazing. Best Wishes.

[ozemu]

crickey - wasn''t expecting that offer Dave. Don't want crossed wires with GS membership specialist. Will email you.

 

Campfire fairy the not drinking of water is maybe not 100% accurate. Vaguely recall some rersearch that has koala's drinking but not very much or very often. And as for cute and cuddly. The can smell and have claws. Like possums they will climb people if you stand still and they are frightened but tghey are very timid and that doesn't happen often. Possums however can get very tame. I recall a Scout standing still wide eyed with a box of food and a possum on his big traditional scout hat.

 

FrankJ the kookaburras must laugh every morning and afternoon to welcome and farewell the sun. If they do not do their job the sun will not rise. The full dreamtime story I cannot remember.