After roughly a month of building benches and dog obstacles, Boy Scout Nicholas Zica finally presented his Eagle Scout project to the Hudson Valley SPCA in New Windsor this past Saturday.

“It all came out so well. I know that the place will like it and the dogs will like it,” said Zica, who was joined by his father Daniel Zica, former Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 33 of Walden, along with other family members and fellow Scouts.

Nicholas Zica is Troop 33’s ninetieth Eagle Scout after a few more upcoming hikes, meetings and signatures. Eagle is the highest rank a Scout can receive, and a large part of the process is completing a leadership project organized by the Boy Scout. They plan, finance and create the project, usually doing it for a community organization, like churches, schools or nonprofits.

Before Nicholas Zica, 90 Scouts reached Eagle status in Troop 33. Some of their projects include a resurfaced parking lot and shrubbery at the Holy Name of Mary Church in Montgomery, an outdoor classroom and nature trail at Berea Elementary School and a brand new interior of food storage areas for the Montgomery Food Pantry.

To add on to the lengthy list of community projects, animal lover Nicholas Zica decided to construct a dog agility course and two wood visitor benches for the SPCA in New Windsor. The course includes two jumps, a ring jump, see-saw, dog walk, weave, and an A-Frame. Using some wood and pipes, he made an entire course for dogs to enjoy.

He ended up placing the agility course items in one of their fenced in lots on the grass, and the benches in two separate spaces.

The SPCA helped Nicholas Zica come up with ideas for his project.

“When we came here, they [the SPCA] were giving us some ideas,” said Nicholas Zica, who mentioned that the SPCA said they had benches but that they were getting old. He also found out that they have an agility course for dogs, but the size was mini. “They kind of came up with the idea and I just looked up dog obstacle videos and the instructions on how to do it,” said Nicholas Zica.

Along the way, Scouts, friends and family helped him with the project. Nicholas Zica also received donations from Messco Building Supply, Scotts Corners Hardware, Winsupply, and friends and family for the project.

“I’m so happy,” Nicholas said. “It’s so cool to see.”