New Animal Care Facility To Bear Dr Silverlieb’s Name

By John Voket

According to Virginia Jess, a longtime friend and associate through Canine Advocates of Newtown, local veterinarian Dr Brian Joseph Silverlieb may have done more to make Newtown nicer for animals than anybody. And there may have been no one more passionate about improving the conditions under which the town’s cast-off and abandoned pets were forced to live after being impounded.

“There were many who worked to make the dream of a new animal control facility that reflects the compassion of the people of Newtown a reality,” Ms Jess said before the Board of Selectmen September 6. “However, there was no one who was a greater believer in this vision than the late veterinarian, Dr Brian J. Silverlieb.”

Ms Jess, along with resident Michael Kelly and veterinary technician Mary Simpson, came before the selectmen Tuesday evening to support the board’s naming the soon-to-be built animal care headquarters in memory of Dr Silverlieb, who lost his own brave and extended battle with cancer last February.

One by one, Ms Jess ticked off the many things her friend was able to accomplish on behalf of the animals of Newtown, including helping to establish a funding relationship between the dog pound and Canine Advocates, so its members and benefactors could underwrite rabies inoculations, spaying and neutering procedures for soon-to-be-placed adoptees, and the integration of volunteers to support staffers at the town’s existing and inadequate facility adjacent to the town landfill.

“He was the only vet in town to offer a deep discount for the care of pound animals,” she said. “And when there was no room for an animal at the pound for any reason, Dr Silverlieb offered shelter in his hospital at no cost.”

His support for a new facility was so well-known that memorial contributions toward the effort after his death totaled more than $6,000, she added.

Ms Simpson, who worked beside Dr Silverlieb at the Mt Pleasant Animal Hospital, said she never saw Dr Silverlieb treat a pound animal any differently than a cherished pet. And Mr Kelly recounted how the vet refused to abort a litter of puppies that was about to be delivered by an abandoned pug he and his wife, Mary, adopted several years ago.

The puppies from that litter that survived are now cherished pets for several local families, including former first selectman Herb Rosenthal and former town finance director Ben Spragg.

While the final name will be determined once the facility nears completion, possibly by the end of the year, First Selectman Pat Llodra and Selectmen Will Rodgers and William Furrier all wholeheartedly supported the request to honor Dr Silverlieb by placing his name on the new building.

Later in the meeting, Public Works Director Fred Hurley reported that while he does not expect the new building to be ready to occupy by Christmas, if the weather cooperates, the facility should at least be fully enclosed by the time the coldest part of winter sets in.