FLEMING ISLAND – Crafting a wash table for a German Shepherd rescue seemed simple enough. But Nolan Hollinger realized the table needed a drain pan. And steps. And pavers would be a good idea, too, so the groomer wouldn’t walk through mud.

As a scout, Hollinger was prepared for the challenge. The work became one of 27 Eagle Scout Projects that will benefit the communities in Clay, Bradford and Putnam counties.

And for the K-9 Services German Shepherd Rescue in Green Cove Springs near Penney Farms, the work will help President Nila Walden-Hughes’s mission to give her dogs “a new leash on life.”

Scouts from the Bartram Trail District will be coronated to the rank of Eagle during an annual ceremony on Saturday night, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. at Sullivan Hall at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Fleming Island. All will receive citations and gifts from many Clay County organizations. But the highlight will be the placement of their white Eagle neckerchief.

Hollinger, a junior at Fleming Island High, picked the rescue as his beneficiary because washing dogs in the past usually meant getting just as dirty during the process.

“I only went over there to look around,” Hollinger said. “We noticed that she didn’t have some place or something to wash all the dogs. All she had was a wooden board, and you just sprayed the hose. We thought if we built her a platform, that’d be pretty useful. She didn’t have one of those. We just thought of an idea and then came up with all the blueprints. It was meant to be effective.”

Elevating the washing platform allowed Walden-Hughes and her volunteers to stand upright. The scouts decided the station needed a drain pan to avoid puddles.

“We decided to put in pavers so you didn’t have to walk through any water,” Hollinger said. “It turned out to be quite a project.”

Walden-Hughes was so overjoyed she posted the following on her social media accounts:

“What an Amazing Day! We are so incredibly blessed to have been chosen by Nolan to represent his Eagle Scout Project! Everybody worked so hard today! The end results: Brand New Doggie Bathing Station, set on new Pavers, Big Shed Moved off of our Septic Tank, Agility equipment moved to accommodate Shed relocation. They also did extra tasks, such as pulling up (the) old back door platform (and) relocating that to accommodate the new pavers! The kids were awesome. Ben made new friends and was great helping out, too! Thank you, Nolan and Family. Thank you all, Eagle Scouts, Parents, Volunteers, and most of all, Nolan, with his Eagle Scout Troop 482! My heart is full!”

But Hollinger wasn’t finished. He returned three weeks later to install a small bronze plaque on the wash station. He delivered a bag of dog food and the leftover cash donated for his project, totaling $198.

“The funny part about it was when we got done, we asked her, ‘What do you need?’ She said since we had a big group of guys come in, she had a big utility shed in her backyard. When they installed this a few years ago, they installed a right on top of her septic tank, and she couldn’t get to it. We made it part of the project and moved it to another part of her yard.”

Walden-Hughes thanked Hollinger and the other volunteers fittingly, saying, “I have no doubt you will soar just like an eagle.”