Local Eagle Scout Spruces Up Animal Shelter

Metro Animal Services is looking a little brighter these days, thanks to a local Eagle Scout and Boy Scout Troop 505.

Elias Lenart, a senior at Emerald Ridge High School, dedicated his Eagle Scout project to landscaping and painting around the shelter and constructed two wooden benches to sit out front, replacing the old dog houses that used to greet future animal owners when they walked in.

“I’ve personally always been an animal guy and when I would drive by the shelter, it was looking kind of dirty, with garbage outside and old dog houses out front,” said Lenart. “So, I thought why not make it look a little more appealing?”

The busy local animal shelter serves the Puyallup, Bonney Lake, Sumner, Pacific, Algona and Edgewood communities and depends on volunteers and a few dedicated staff, who were very thankful for the help.

Lenart and Boy Scout Troop 505 worked on the project for over two months and were honored with a special plaque and small dedication ceremony for the benches on Oct. 27.

“It really spruced up the shelter!” said Jason Wilson, manager of Metro Animal Services.

Lenart said the idea at first was to repaint the dog houses, but they decided it’d be easier to replace them with new wooden benches. Weekends were spent picking up garbage, pressure washing, painting and landscaping at the shelter, then Lenart would work with his dad, Dave, on the benches at home.

“It was the first time I’ve ever built benches like that,” said Lenart.

When asked if he found a new calling in carpentry, he joked, “It was cool making them, but I’m not sure I’d do it again.”

Lenart has been a Boy Scout since the sixth grade and hopes to join the Army after a couple years in college.

“Being an Eagle Scout and having that experience helps out a lot, especially for going into the military,” Lenart said. “It helps a lot with finding a job too. It shows you’re committed to something and to getting the job done.”

You can check out Troop 505’s hard work and enjoy Lenart’s homemade wooden benches at Metro Animal Services, located at 1200 39th Avenue Southeast in Puyallup.