Eagle Scout Project Honors the Memory of Beloved Pet

Becoming an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Scouts BSA, is a great honor and only four percent of scouts have achieved it. It requires earning 21 merit badges and the completion of a service project.

Benji Barry, 16, of Boy Scout Troop 16 in Franklin Tennessee, recently completed a service project that honors the bond between people and their pets that have passed, reported the Williamston Herald. Benj’s project, a wooden rainbow bridge, is dedicated to his beloved chocolate lab Reagon who passed away in 2022. She was 15.

“She was my best friend,” Benji told the Williamston Herald. “And, as I thought about her, I realized that this bridge would serve as a way to memorialize not just her, but all pets that people have lost.”

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The Rainbow Bridge
The concept of  a rainbow bridge as a place where pets go after they pass away originated in Scotland and is based on a poem written by Edna Clyne-Rekhy in 1959, according to National Geographic. She wrote the “Rainbow Bridge” when she was 19 and grieving for the loss of her Labrador retriever, Majo.

The poem, written with love, tells about a place over the horizon where pets are restored to health and run and play while waiting to be reunited with their families.

The Rainbow Bridge became popular in the US when a woman who received a copy from her local humane society sent it to the advice columnist Dear Abby. While the poem was printed, Abby pointed out to her 100 million readers that she did not know the author’s name. She asked for help to find out who wrote the poem.

Copies of the poem are everywhere, given out by veterinarians, printed in pet condolence cards, on social media, and now, there is a rainbow bridge at Williamson County Animal Center (WCAC), aptly named Reagan’s Rainbow Bridge.

Dedicating Reagan’s Rainbow Bridge
The rainbow bridge – which is located at the edge of a walking trail next to a public dog park on the grounds of the WCAC – was dedicated on December 9, 2024, reported WSMV4. Benji was given the honor of placing the first collar on the bridge. It was Reagan’s collar.

The ceremony was attended by Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson who spoke about the positive influence pets have on people. This chance to memorialize beloved pets is a way to recognize this bond

People are welcome to hang a collar or any other object like a favorite toy on the bridge anytime, according to the animal center.

Benji officially became an Eagle Scout on February 4, 2025. This is a well-deserved honor for a remarkable young man whose service project will help people celebrate the pets they have loved and lost.