Lions Club Contributes $11,000

To New Dog Pound

By Kendra Bobowick

The long road to $500,000 is “going pretty well,” said Canine Advocate of Newtown (CAN) Director Virginia Jess. Wednesday morning brought her $11,000 closer to what she estimates will be the necessary sum to build a new pound in town.

 Ms Jess and CAN Treasurer Jane Calverly and her standard poodle Alexei joined Lions Club member and Yankee Wine & Spirits store owner Matthew DeAngelis Wednesday to accepted a contribution of $11,000 — proceeds that were raised during the club’s duck race in the spring.

The stories behind the community support for a new dog pound “shows how much people care about animals,” Ms Jess explained.

She said that children have asked friends to skip birthdays gifts and contribute to the pound while others have handed over their lemonade stand earnings; school groups, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and others have also made efforts to support her fundraising. Children are clearly not the only residents with affection for the dogs, as one senior resident has proved.

“One woman at Nunnawauk Meadows is very enthusiastic about a new pound,” Ms Jess said. “For her birthday she asked her friends to send us checks…she must be very wonderful, we’ve received a lot of checks.”

Donations ranging from a few dollars to the thousands of dollars are all a help, Ms Jess said.

“All over town people are doing things, large and small,” she said.

Other fundraisers and community events are on the horizon said Mr DeAngelis.

He noted that a wine tasting event is now in planning stages. He is still organizing where and when to hold this event.

Ms Jess also anticipates upcoming fundraisers and events. According to the website canineadvocates.org, upcoming dates include the September 4 Labor Day Parade when CAN will line up at 9 am on Currituck Rd. All Pound alumni are invited to walk in the parade with CAN. On Saturday, September 9, the public is invited to Town Players Little Theatre on Orchard Hill Road to see  Laura at 8 pm. The proceeds of that performance will benefit CAN

With The Lions Club and Yankee Wine & Spirits for examples, Ms Jess and Ms Calverly hope to garner the support of Newtown’s business sector. Already notices are in the mail to local business owners, she said.

“There are some big companies in town and we are hoping they will step up,” said Ms Calverly. “We are hoping the local businesses will see how much support and interest is coming from the community,” she said.

The existing dog pound is located several yards behind the Newtown dump. Currently the kennels are near capacity.