By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Pies and Pints of Middlebury is hosting Pies and Pints and Pups, a fundraiser for a Middlebury dog park, Wednesday, Sept. 9, from 4:30 to 10 p.m. During that time 10 percent of all sales, including takeout, will go to support the dog park. Pies and Pints co-owner Theo Anastasiadis, whose family has a 7-month-old black German shepherd named Blanco, said they take their dog to the Southbury Dog Park and would love to have a dog park in Middlebury.
“I think Beverly (Dassonville) is doing a great job with this project. With the help of the town and many people, it will be possible,” he said.
Beverly Dassonville of Middlebury, shown holding her dog Chloe, continues to fundraise for a Middlebury dog park, as she has done since early 2014. (Marjorie Needham photo)
Dassonville, president of Friends of Middlebury Dog Park, began her efforts to bring a dog park to Middlebury in 2013, when she entered the Beneful Dream Dog Park Contest. She was one of 14 finalists, but her design wasn’t chosen as the winner. If it had been, she would have won $500,000 for improvement to a dog park in her area. Since Middlebury didn’t have a dog park then, the improvements likely would have been made to the Southbury dog park.
Dassonville, a dog lover who owns two Pomeranians, is an emergency medical technician with the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) and a member of the MVFD ladies’ auxiliary. After losing the contest, she refused to give up on her dream of bringing a dog park to Middlebury. She has placed collection jars around town so people can donate to the dog park, and she organized earlier fundraisers, an appearance by psychic Lisa Lanno and participation in the Quassy 5K.
Dassonville said she understood the town would allow the dog park to use property located along Long Meadow Road. A major expense for the new park will be fencing. Dassonville said one of the customers at Pies and Pints, where she works as a server, offered to clear the tree line for the fencing, but the fencing itself will cost thousands of dollars.
Look for Friends of Middlebury Dog Park on Facebook.
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