furry friends pet supplement

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S2 Furry Friends 2009 A Hersam Acorn Newspapers publication

A Hersam Acorn Newspapers Publication

Jen Hathaway, cover & page design

Berkshire PennySaver154 West Park Street,

Lee, MA 01238413-243-2341

Yankee Shopper20 Cleveland Road, Dalton, MA 01226

413-684-1373

TriState Pennysaver News109 South Street,

Bennington, VT 05201802-447-3381

Vermont News Guide99 Bonnet Street,

Manchester, VT 05254802-362-3535

Renee Tassone, General Manager

It’s cold and snowy but what do they care?! Our furry friends - canines, in this case - joy-fully play, sniff, and do what dogs do when they are off-leash at the Manchester Dog Park. Yes, the dog park is officially open. Dozens of people and their animal companions braved the cold and ignored the flurries to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony in early December. Since then, area residents and visitors alike have been coming to the park in droves, enjoy-ing the opportunity to socialize with each other at this new community resource.

“I’ve taken Tuppi, my cairn terrier, to the park a few times already,” says Gert D’Eredita who has found it easy to strike up a conver-sation with others who share her interest in socializing with their dogs. “Even though I’ve lived in Manchester for 40 years, I’m still eager to meet new people, especially in a relaxed and friendly setting like this one.” Gert brought Tuppi and her eight-year-old granddaughter Rachel Wood to the dog park opening where Rachel had the honor of cutting the ribbon.

The Manchester Dog Park, an enclosed area for off-leash canine activities, is at the Dana L. Thompson Memorial Recreation Area, between the Dorr property and the walking track, just outside Manchester Center, Vermont on Route 30N.

Robin Green has found a creative way to connect with those who share her love of dasc-hunds. She set up a Manchester VT Dachshund MeetUp Group on meetup.com so that she and her beloved Frankie can find others to social-ize with at the dog park. “We just moved to Manchester from the Boston area last spring,” explains Green, “and the park is going to become a wonderful gathering place for new-comers like Frankie and me.” Those interested in connecting via this dog breed group are encouraged to contact Robin at 802-768-8089 or [email protected].

In addition to planning upcoming “fun”raisers to complete the park’s construction, volunteers

Who, Who, Who Let The Dogs Out?!No Winter Blues at the Manchester Dog Park

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A Hersam Acorn Newspapers publication Furry Friends 2009 S3

have been involved in a host of activities to build community and support the park’s ongoing operations. One major project has been the revamping of the dog park’s website -- http://www.manchestervtdogpark.org/ -- to make it more robust and easier to use. Once it goes “live” in early March, this site will become the centralized portal for all things dog-related in the Northshire area, including a com-prehensive listing of dog-friendly hotels and motels along with mer-chants and vendors who provide canine services and products. Included in this list are busi-nesses such as Wagatha’s Dog Biscuits -- manu-factured right here in Manchester Center and distributed nationwide -- and Casablanca Motel on Route 7A, which has ten individually themed cabins with a variety of accommodations to sat-

isfy the needs of travelers with pets. “We are always interested in expanding our reach not only

to the business community but also to people who want to get involved,” comments Sylvia Carpenter, President of the Manchester Dog Park Foundation. “We encourage people to con-tact us, whether they have one hour or dozens of hours to help out.”

Volunteer tasks include monitoring the park and its supplies, updating the website, helping with fundraisers, organizing special events, writing dog-focused articles for the local newspapers, and taking dog pictures. To become a part of this wonderful community, email [email protected] or visit http://www.manches-tervtdogpark.org.

Opening Day at the Manchester Dog Park. Photo by Diane Pouliot.

continued from page 2Who, Who, Who Let The Dogs Out?!

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Tucked away at the end of Downing Four, in Pittsfield’s Downing Industrial Park, is a small building surrounded by ken-nels of various sizes. If the weather is decent, you will probably hear the sounds of barking as you approach. Even in the worst weather, you will probably pass people walking dogs of all shapes and sizes. Those people are almost all volunteers, and you have reached the Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter.

The Sonsini Shelter is Pittsfield’s municipal shelter. It takes

in stray dogs and cats, and, as room allows, accepts voluntary surrenders of dogs and cats. You may not have heard of it, and it may be physically small, but in 2008 this little shelter found new homes for 390+ cats and 170 dogs, and returned another 230+ lost dogs to their homes. And it was voted “Berkshire’s Best Place to Get a Pet” by Berkshire Eagle readers.

The shelter is a place where animals and animal lovers truly converge. Overseen by the Friends of Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter, Inc., itself a non-profit volunteer organization, volun-teers play a role in all aspects of the shelter’s day-to-day opera-tion. They work with the small, dedicated staff in cleaning and feeding, socializing, handling adoptions and surrenders, and providing foster care for young or sick animals.

Volunteers also help with the continuing efforts to improve the lives and surroundings of the animals as they await their new homes. They played major roles in building the eight large outdoor dog runs and the new play room for the cats.

Adoptions are made to homes throughout Berkshire County and well beyond. The shelter’s animal alumni reside as far away as Gloucester and Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and in

Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter: The Little Shelter That Could

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several other states (New York, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, among them). Before adoption, every animal is temperament tested, spayed or neutered and brought up to date on vaccinations. All the animals get a physical exam and any health problems are addressed.

The shelter welcomes volunteers, adoption inquiries, donations, and visitors. You can call the shelter at 413-448-9800, or visit in person at the Downing Industrial Park off Hubbard Avenue in Pittsfield. Directions and current hours are available online at www.pittsfieldanimals.org. Animals currently available for adoption can also be seen online.

Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter continued from page 4

Deb and Kaci at the Sonsini Animal

Shelter. Far Right: The new cat playroom at the shelter.

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Shaftsbury, VT (January 26, 2009) - Second Chance Animal Center (SCAC) in Shaftsbury, VT has been awarded a generous grant in the amount of $2,000 from the Humane Society of the U.S (HSUS).

The grant is in support of Second Chance’s Spay/Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) which is designed to help families who otherwise would not be able to afford to have their pet spayed or neutered.

Nancy Boardman, presi-dent of SCAC, said “The

economic crisis is taking its toll in many ways. Here in Vermont, where winters are particularly severe, many families are afraid they won’t be able to afford to heat their homes or have enough food to eat and, of course, their pets will be needing help too. Just one of the ways Second Chance is helping is by pro-viding low-cost, and in some cases no-cost, spay/neutering for income-eligible families”.

Pet overpopulation is a very real problem with many tragic consequences – star-

Humane Society of the U.S. Awards Grant

to Second Chance Animal Center

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214 Barker Road Pittsfield MA 413-447-7878 www.berkshirehumane.org

Pet AdoptionsChildren’s EducationalPrograms

Low Cost Spay &Neuter

Programs

All Paths Lead to the Berkshire Humane Society

FamilyDog

School

VolunteerOpportunities

SafePetFoster

Program

CommunityPet FoodPantries

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vation, abuse and death for the innocent victims. The sad fact is that there simply are not enough homes for all the litters of kittens and puppies born each year. That is why it is so important for people to have their pets spayed or neutered. Another benefit to having pets spayed or neutered is that they tend to live longer and lead hap-pier, healthier lives.

The Humane Society of the U.S. is the nation’s larg-est animal protection orga-nization – backed by over ten million Americans. For more than half a cen-tury, the HSUS has been fighting for the protec-tion of all animals through

advocacy, education and hands-on programs.

Second Chance has been serving the needs of the tri-state area for almost 50 years and is dedicated to improving the lives of companion animals by providing shelter, care and adoption services for homeless and unwanted animals. The shelter also provides spay/neuter assis-tance, humane education, and investigative services to handle complaints con-cerning neglect and abuse of animals.

Humane Society of the U.S. Awards Grant to Second Chance Animal Center continued from page 6

Bella is the pet of the month for February, 2009 at Second Chance Animal Center

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