NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Ishaanth Ravichandran, known as Ish, wanted to do something a little different for his Eagle Scout project.
“There were always so many scouts wanting to help other people and places. And stuff like that, there weren’t many scouts helping dogs and animals," said Ravichandran, a freshman at JW Mitchell High School.
His efforts took him to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and its K9 Unit.
As part of K9 training, they use boxes like these to work on search and rescue and tracking down missing people or criminals.
“The boxes they currently have are plastic. They are shattered, and with the sun and everything, it makes the boxes brittle, and the wind blows and destroys all of that. So we wanted to make it out of pressure-treated wood," said Ravichandran.
Dave Davis is Troop 77’s Committee Chair and used his architecture background to help with the design.
“When you buy them online from the company that makes these things, they are like $30,000," said Davis.
But with Ish and his fellow scouts handling the labor, the new longer-lasting boxes will cost just a few thousand dollars in supplies.
“There are so many pieces of wood. You just have to cut, drill, and organize it. Cut, drill, organize it," said Ravichandran.
When the boxes are finished, the kids will present them to the sheriff’s office, and if all goes well, Ish will become an Eagle Scout.
“In recent times, there hasn’t been much support for our sheriff’s department and police department. Now that I’m doing something for them, it makes me realize that I’m not just doing something for my community. I’m helping people that help others, too," Ravichandran said.
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