Saving Canine Companions Through Eagle Project Doghouses

For a family facing the potential loss of their favorite dog because of lack of space, receiving a doghouse—even just for a few months—can be integral in saving their furry best friend.

Several more Chicago families hopefully will now be able to keep their pets, thanks to the Eagle project of Western Springs’ Matt Layden (Troop 3, All Saint’s Episcopal) and his seven bright-red custom-built dog homes, a project he has worked on in cooperation with the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago.

Families facing the potential surrender of their dog because they cannot keep said pet in the home will receive the doghouses as a two- to six-month stopgap, giving them a window in which to find a permanent solution; then the doghouses will move onto a new family and pet in need.

“A lot of times, the dog is obviously always friendly, [but] the person cannot find space inside—but they have a backyard area,” Layden said. “This enables a longer-term care for the dog… It’s just enough of a length of time for the family to find more care.”

The overall project took Layden about two years, with the building taking place over the past two months. The template doghouse took him and his dad five or six weekends of constant work, with two more weekends for his team of volunteers and fellow Scouts to assemble the other six. (An uncle drove in from Maryland to demonstrate how to apply the roof shingling.)

It required Layden to figure out a few new skills. “One thing I’ve learned is definitely planning is a key thing that I lacked in certain spots,” he said. “I had too many people in certain spots where I had people standing around… You can’t always count on the same three people. I think that the key thing is communication.”

Volunteers loaded the doghouses (each about 150 lbs) onto a truck on Monday for delivery. The houses are made for all size dogs and all weather, sitting off the ground and offering a partitioned area so a pooch can stay warm even in a Chicago winter.

Troop 3 Scoutmaster Tom Reardon said Layden’s project was particularly unique for the troop.

“It’s probably one of the more ambitious ones,” Reardon said “Normally we’re reconstructing planter boxes or doing things for the forest preserve, but this is the first time we’ve ever done anything like this. It’s kind of cool, kind of a neat idea… It’s definitely one of the more unique [projects.]”

Following completion of the project and his Court of Honor, Matt Layden will join as one of Troop 3’s 51 Eagle Scouts.