Sleep tight, dogs and cats

Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette

Marshall Sides, second from the left, and fellow Troop 244 members present Marshall's Eagle Scout project to the McCook Humane Society. Marshall designed and built, with the help of (left to right) Mason Sides, Andrew Johnson and Richard Johnson, eight large dog beds and eight small dog/cat beds using PVC pipe and vinyl-coated nylon mesh. The beds will be used in the dog runs to give the animals beds that are elevated off the concrete floor, keeping them warmer and making their runs easier to clean. "I'm an 'animal person,'" Marshall explained. "I wanted to do something for the animals and the shelter." Marshall is a senior at McCook High School, and the son of Jana and Terry Sides. Now, with dog beds donated earlier by shelter supporters Brandon and Gail Lenhart of McCook, all the dog kennels at the shelter have elevated beds. Shelter director Lorie Prestes couldn't be happier. "I am so impressed. These are awesome, and the smaller beds are dual purpose," she said. She said Marshall asked what the shelter needed, and then came in to take measurements for the beds. "He did not let me down!" Lorie said.