NORFOLK, Va. - Traveling pet owners will soon have local Scout Emmett Moorhouse to thank for a project he's working on.
News 3 reporter Angela Bohon first reported on Moorhouse's Eagle Scout project last week. He's fundraising to create a dog park at the Norfolk International Airport, helping dogs and pet owners flying in and out of Norfolk - and that story, Emmett says, really helped get the word out about his plans.
"Within about a day, I actually completed my fundraising," Emmett said. "People donated on GoFundMe, which I was not at all expecting."
Now he can order all the supplies he needs for a 2,500-sq. ft. area on the departure side of the terminal, near the first drop-off entrance.
Jeff Bass, the Director of Facilities at the airport and a former Scout Master himself, welcomes the project for the sake of the traveling pet owners.
"A lot of the times, [pet owners] are having to find grass to be able to let [their pets] run around," Bass said. "This will be the first area that we have that is fenced in to give them a safe place to actually take them off the leash and let them relax a little bit."
And perhaps cut down on some of the accidents inside the airport terminal, Bass hopes.
"It's one of those things that unfortunately sometimes dogs can't wait that long, but we take care of it. This will definitely help!"
Emmett's mom, Meghan Moorhouse, is very proud of her son.
"It's been a great chance for him to break a large project down into smaller pieces and work through something that maybe seems overwhelming to start, but learning how to take that and break it down, which are great skills for now and also for later in life," she said.
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For these reasons, News 3 is presenting Emmett with a News 3 People Taking Action award, along with a $300 Visa gift card from our community partner, Southern Bank.
Emmett was very grateful, telling us, "Oh, wow! Thank you!"
Emmett is hopeful construction on the park can get underway by June.
To nominate someone for a People Taking Action Award, click here.
