Eagle Scout stays the course

Jesse Hurt spent a summer transforming plywood and PVC pipe into stacked boxes and adjustable ladders.

Hurt, a junior at Cape Girardeau Central High School, constructed a dog training course for his Eagle Scout project. He worked with Erin Venable, who trains dogs for Missouri Task Force One, an organization that certifies rescue dogs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"They're certified to avoid everything else except people that need rescued," Hurt said.

He constructed four elements, including an enclosed maze, a ladder that has adjustable increments and three large stacked boxes the dogs climb through.

"What we need our dogs to do is climb on anything, go through anything, walk on anything and be basically fearless," Venable said. The local task force includes eight dogs and meets once a month for training, she said.

Hurt said the project involved careful planning, a requirement for earning the Eagle Scout recognition. He said he documented every detail so others could finish construction with little instruction. In the process he developed leadership skills.

"I had to tell people what needed to be done," he said.

Overall, the four month project had few glitches, he said.

"A couple of times we cut the board too short," he said. "Then we had to buy another board."

Before the new course, Venable said she pushed together ladders and used chain link fences to train her dogs.

"This was built specifically with training goals in mind," she said.

Venable and her dog Charlie have been deployed to rescue missions. They traveled to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to conduct house to house searches. She and her dog cleared city blocks looking for people, she said.

"They can tell us if there's anyone still alive in that building," she said.

Venable said her other dog, Pic, was certified in March. The dog met the requirements on the first attempt, a rare accomplishment, she said. She said she attributes Pic's success to the new course, which is located at the public works department in Scott City.

"She would not have been able to successfully complete her training without it," Venable said.

abusch@ semissourian.com

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