Montville residents to host May 5 'pup rally' in support of new animal shelter
Apr. 28—MONTVILLE — The recently formed Montville Animal Shelter Community Team, whose goal is to get the town to build a new animal control facility, is inviting dog owners and families to attend a free "pup rally" Sunday, May 5, at the Fair Oaks Community Center at 836 Old Colchester Road.
The rally is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m.
Resident Ann Gaulin, one of many residents who have been attending town meetings to lobby for support and raise awareness for the need to build a new shelter, said there will be about 20 booths selling dog-related products and things for children, along with food trucks.
The purpose of the rally will be threefold, Gaulin said. It will be a "big, fun event for the community," while raising money for dogs' medical care and also raising awareness that a new shelter is needed.
"Our animal shelter has had eight years of violations," she said. "Our shelter is so bad, the dogs have to have heat lamps over their heads."
Gaulin said dog owners will be able to get their dog's nails cut and ears cleaned for $10. All profits will go to a fund at the Norwichtown Veterinary Hospital that will pay for medical care for animals from the Montville shelter.
They will also be collecting cat and dog food for the town's animal control facility and the food pantry at social services.
All dogs will get a free "pup bag" that will include tick kits and dog cookies.
Gaulin said she and other members of the animal shelter community team are trying to educate residents so they will be prepared to vote yes if the project has to go to a referendum, which may happen if the state bond commission does not approve money for the project next month.
She said members of the group have been contacting state Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme, along with state Sen. Martha Marx, D-New London, and Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, in an attempt to secure money for the new shelter, which at last estimate would cost $2.2 million. The bond would cover about $2 million. State Reps. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, and Kathleen McCarty, R-Waterford, also sponsored the request, Osten said.
"If they get us our bond, we'll be able to build a shelter," she said.
The State Bond Commission's next meeting is scheduled for May 31, but Osten said those meetings are prone to being canceled. She said the commission under Gov. Ned Lamont has typically met two or three times a year. Four meetings so far have been canceled.
"I just sent my letter off pleading for four projects from my district," Osten said Thursday. "One of them was the animal control facility in Montville."
She added this is the third year she has made the request to the bond commission for funding for a new shelter.
If the bond commission does not grant the request, Gaulin and others in her group want to see the town bond the money to build the shelter, in which case it would be put to a townwide vote.
"Our animals will not get the proper amount of attention they require if they are not kept locally," Gaulin said.
