By Liz Leamy
Last Sunday marked another golden moment for the town and its surrounding areas as thousands of people descended upon Roger Sherman Baldwin Park to partake in the Adopt-A-Dog Inc.’s 37th annual ‘Puttin’ on the Dog,’ an action-packed annual fundraiser event dedicated to rescuing and rehoming dogs, with 11 of the approximately 24-member Adopt-a-Dog canine contingent having found new forever homes and three others having been taken into foster living to designate this as a triumphant endeavor on all counts.
This lively event, which also featured dog demonstrations and competitions, more than a dozen pet-friendly vendors and live music by the Greenwich band, Mojo, among other things, was a winner in all regards for the furry Adopt-A-Dog residents, dogs accompanied by their human counterparts and all other visitors and individuals there who were appeared to be very much enjoying themselves as they spent time at this famous waterside park on the Long Island Sound to help support this all-important cause.
“I want to congratulate Adopt-A-Dog on one of its most successful ‘Puttin’ on the Dog’ events ever, with at least 11 dogs adopted out and at three more fostered,” said First Selectman Fred Camillo, who was on hand at this event as a judge for several of its fun competitions, something he has been doing for several years. “As always, I had a blast judging and meeting new four-legged friends that make animal welfare volunteerism so enjoyable.”
For the dedicated contingent of figureheads, staff members and volunteers of Adopt-a-Dog Inc., the renowned Armonk, New York-based local nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing and finding forever and foster homes for its canine and cat residents, it was an affair to remember.
“This has been an incredible day. We’ve had so many adoptions and dogs have also found foster homes today,” said Peyton Kasak, a member of the Adopt-A-Dog Inc. Board of Directors who spent a significant amount of the afternoon walking around with a number of its interim residents, including two lovely dogs who are currently up for adoption as a pair, Gemma and Gunnar. “I think we’ve also recruited a lot of new volunteers and have brought a greater awareness in regard to the amazing things that Adopt-ADog does in the community.”
“It could not have been a more perfect day,” said Kasak, with the Adopt-A-Dog event having been so successful that its website had crashed the morning after the event due to hits from so many hundreds of people. (The situation was fixed, however, by later that afternoon.) “The community of people, the weather and the space here on the water with this view is just amazing, with the dogs at the center of it all enjoying themselves. Everyone here, the guests and dog guests, as well as the vendors, volunteers, staff, are all here to celebrate dogs.”
At center stage was the bustling Adopt-A-Dog tent with its open fence area where many of its members, both human and canine, interacted with visitors all day long.
Situated behind the AdoptA-Dog tent and area was the organization’s big red, white and black bus, a reimagined school vehicle that provides transportation for its dogs, staff and volunteers that always grabs attention of people with its big signature paws.
This extensive contingent of vendors featured such pet-related retail items and services as pet food and snacks, accessories, beds, veterinary care, grooming, portraits, training and other things, as well as freebies that included pet snacks, pouches, pup cups and tennis balls.
“This is such a great event and we absolutely love coming here to help support the AdoptA-Dog organization,” said Lorena Schaich of Stamford who was there with her husband, Andrew Schaich, and lovely dog, Penny, who was getting her caricature drawn by Caricature Artist Bill Hernandez of Partycartoons. com, with the couple celebrating their first wedding anniversary together that same day as well. “The dogs get pampered here and you can see they’re all having so much fun like everyone else. It’s such a great time.”
Others shared similar sentiments.
“This event has been outstanding and it is our favorite event to do every year,” said Jamie Cohen, co-owner of Sit Means Sit Dog Training of Westchester and Fairfield (Counties) based in Valhalla, New York, who was there her husband, Neil Cohen, fellow co-owner of the company that provides professional dog and puppy obedience training. “The people running the event do a phenomenal job. It’s so well set up and well organized. Everyone is so helpful and nice and we can’t wait to come back next year.”
The Cohens also elaborated on how great it was for Sit Means Sit Dog Training of Southern Westchester and Fairfield to have a dog demonstration set up at their vendor area.
“We were honored when we had started doing demos here and we’ve gotten so much support from Adopt-A-Dog,” said Neil Cohen, whose company has been part of the ‘Puttin’ on the Dog’ event for more than seven years running. “The amount of love I see people giving the dogs and the reaction from the dogs is amazing. There are going to be so many dogs going home to wonderful families today and we’re so grateful to be part of it all.”
“We believe in this cause and we’re here to do whatever we can to help further the role and work of Adopt-A-Dog. It is an awesome organization and the dogs are even more awesome and there is no better forum than this one to demonstrate our commitment to them,” said Anand Rajaraman of Furry Land Mobile Pet Grooming Fairfield County (@furrylandfairfieldcounty), who was also there with Kiran Anand, the company’s owner, with this being their first time participating in this event. “This has been one of the best events we have been part of and we are looking forward to doing it again in the future.”
By all means, Adopt-A-Dog knocked the proverbial ball out of the park in terms of its goal of finding forever homes for so many of its furry residents with the organization’s dedication and commitment to this cause having clearly had such a powerful impact upon those in attendance, something that ought to bode well for all of its furry friends in looking ahead, that is for sure.
For more information, please contact Adopt-A-Dog at:
www.adopt-a-dog.org
23 Cox Avenue Armonk, NY 10504
914-273-1674
