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Raffle winners

And the winners are...
Dog Fan: Pat Gralton
Cat Fan: Tim Zagaja
Coffee Basket: Brian & Trish
Cat Basket: Sue Labonte
Dog Basket: Jody
Stop & Shop Gift Card: Gus Johnson
Bamboo Garden Gift Card: Arlene Jacques
Pedicure: Dianne McAuliffe
Manicure: Kay Lambs

Congratulations everyone and thank you to everyone for coming out and supporting the pantry.

Dom's Dinner

Windsor Patch Article

Dom's Holds Italian Dinner For Dogs and Cats

Dom's Broad Street Eatery

330 Broad St, Windsor, CT

Dom's Holds Italian Dinner For Dogs and Cats

What you should know today, Thurs., Aug. 11, 2011.

·         By Julian McKinley

Bottom of Form

1. No, Dom's won't be serving up Purina. Instead, in classic Dom's fashion, a fixed-price menu will be offered on Fri., Aug. 12, and 20 percent of all proceeds will be given to Windsor's brand new Pet Food Pantry.

2. The three-course, Italian-themed menu will cost $16.99, and $4.99 for children. The dinner is BYOB and menu options include:

First Course

Tossed Salad with House Vinaigrette

Escarole and White Bean Soup

Second Course

Shimp Piccata with Potato Gnocchi

Spaghetti with Meatballs

Eggplant Parmesan

Fettucini Bolognese

Third Course

Dom's Famous Rice Pudding

Spumoni

Kids' Menu

Hot Dog with Fries

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Grilled Cheese with Fries

3. According to the Associated Press, tough economic times have made it increasingly hard for Connecticut families to keep their pets. The main cause is the inability to afford food for their pets. The Windsor Pet Food Pantry provides pet food for households that cannot afford it

    Dom’s August Dinner 

to Benefit the Windsor Pet Food Pantry

Friday August 12th

5pm – 8pm BYOB

Italian Night at Dom’s

First Course

Tossed Salad with a House Vinaigrette

Escarole and White Bean soup

Second Course

Choice of:

 Shrimp Piccata with Potato Gnocchi

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Eggplant Parmesan

Fettuccini Bolognese  

Third Course

Choice of:

Dom’s Famous Rice Pudding

Served with a chocolate chip cookie

Spumoni

Topped with Powdered Sugar

$16.95 per person

Kids Menu

Hot Dog with Fries

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Grilled Cheese with Fries

$4.99 per child

20% of all sales will go to the Windsor Pet Food Pantry

Friday's dinner

The menu for Friday’s dinner at Dom’s is being changed. We apologize if the previous menu selection offended anyone.

Windsor Journal Article

Windsor Now Has a Pet Food Pantry

• Published on Thursday, 04 August 2011 07:26

Written by Paula Pierce

What do you do if you lose your job, and suddenly you realize that you cannot buy food for your dog or cat anymore? How about the retirees on fixed income, who see everything going up until their four-legged friend, sometimes their only companion, becomes a luxury they cannot afford?

Almost always the answer is the shelter, a heart wrenching prospect for both owners and pets – and that, in the best case scenario, when the pet finds another family willing to take it in.

In Windsor, pet owners in need have a much better option: they can call the Pet Food Pantry, that the Friends of Windsor Animal Care and Control started two weeks ago.

“We formed in January to bring awareness to the citizens in Windsor that we needed the dog pound to stay in Windsor, and thankfully the town council members understood that,” said this week Debbie Samson, one of the group's founders. “And then, in the process of doing that, we discovered that there was this big need for food, and so we, kind of, took a little different turn and we started the pet pantry.”

The group knows well how difficult times are. Diane Logan, the other found of the Friends, has been out of work since January.

“I, luckily I don't have a problem feeding my pets,” she says, “but I understand exactly how people feel.”

The project is already a success. Not a month in existence, and there are already seventeen families around town that depend on the service, Sanson says. And it's absolutely confidential, she stresses. The food is delivered right to the clients' home, by someone of the group – usually by either Samson, or Logan.

“This was something that was desperately needed in town,” says Animal Control Officer Brian Davis. “I was helping a few families out, but I feel that families are probably afraid to call maybe because of the law enforcement side. This is just an opportunity to reach out for help and not feel like somebody is going to take their dog - which we are not there for. We are there to help people, help families and it shows. Just after the first week, they [the pet food pantry] were up and running. Families were calling, a lot more than before, so I knew there were families that needed help. They are doing a great job.”

What is really encouraging, Samson points out is how supportive everyone in town has been for the needs of pets. Starting from the town council, that approved $400,000 to build a new dog pound, to WPD Chief Kevin Searles, who has always been approachable, to officer Brian Davis, with whom the group cooperates on a constant basis, everybody has helped. The group helped also State Representative David Baram, who stood with them last week during their first food drive at Stop & Shop. And a number of Windsor businesses have also promised their help, among the PetSupply, Geissler's, and even Dom's that will hold a benefit dinner on their behalf on August 12.

“We hoped that by opening the pets food pantry, we will be able to help people keep their pets rather than surrender them,” Samson says. “We are doing it. And anyone who needs help can call us at (860) 249-9463. We have deliveries on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and all calls are returned by Diane within 24 hours. They just have to state their name, their address and whether they have dog, cats, how many, and we will put them on our list.”

Windsorites who need more information on the program can email JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING '; document.write(''); document.write(addy_text54190); document.write('<\/a>'); //-->\n JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING or they can go to the group's website at www.friendsofwindsoranimal.com

Dog Food Pantry available to help pet owners

By Gregory A. Scibelli - Staff Writer
Windsor - posted Fri., Jul. 29, 2011

From left to right: Debbie Sampson, Animal Control Officer Brian Davis, Diane Logan, and Betty Sribnick. Photos by Gregory A. Scibelli

It’s all about the animals for Windsor resident Debbie Sampson. She does not want credit. She does not want recognition.  She just wants to keep animals in their homes, safe and out of the pound.

Due to the economy, there has been a dramatic increase in the surrendering or abandonment of animals. Windsor Animal Control Officer Brian Davis has been responding to many calls from residents who want to surrender their animals because they can no longer afford to feed them.

“When I started to hear that, it just broke my heart,” said Sampson, who owns a pair of golden retrievers. “I just felt like I had to do something to help these animals stay in their homes.”

Sampson, along with resident Diane Logan, founded the Friends of Windsor Animal Care and Control.  Their main role has been to collect dog and cat food, but they are starting out slow and have many goals, including to provide affordable health care for the animals.

So far, the group has done several food drives, some of which have garnered a great response.  Now, there are organizations and individuals calling, who want to volunteer.  The Friends have a board of directors, and they are planning events.

“It’s wonderful to see this, because these animals deserve to be able to stay in their homes,” said Davis.
Sampson’s biggest goal currently is to get the word out about what the Friends are trying to do, why they are trying to do it, and what the real facts are about animal control and their function.

“A lot of people are really afraid to call the animal control officer when they don’t have food or can’t afford shots or licensing,” said Sampson.

Davis said no resident in Windsor should be afraid to call for assistance. “I am here to help,” said Davis.  “I am not here to come and take their dogs or cats away.”

The group is currently advertising upcoming collection events as well as a fundraiser at Dom’s Eatery on Aug. 12.  All information can be found at www.friendsofthewindsordogpound.blogspot.com.

Sampson is hoping the movement to help animals will continue to take flight and the Pet Food Pantry will become a place that receives regular donations. So far, Sampson and Logan have completed 17 confidential deliveries.

The deliveries are done in such a way so as not to embarrass or offend those who are requiring assistance. “This can be a very sensitive thing for the people involved,” Sampson said. “Some people are unemployed or are having job issues. They are on fixed incomes or they even have those big oil bills to deal with from last winter.”

Deliveries are done quietly, and names are not given out. There is even a confidential phone number and e-mail address offered by the Friends. Pet owners in need of food can call 860-249-9463 or e-mail friendsofwindsoranimal@yahoo.com.
Cats are also being addressed through this effort, even though current animal control laws do not lend themselves to be “cat-friendly.” One volunteer, Betty Sribnick, has been working with an organization called Alley Cat Allies and is advocating for the safe movement of cats in the community. Her work also includes helping to get more cats spayed.

“By doing that, we are preventing female cats from putting out litters of 8-10 kittens and making the problem of homeless cats even bigger,” said Sribnick.

Residents can contact the Friends to reach Sribnick for help with cats.

Prior to beginning the Pet Food Pantry, the group has also successful lobbied the Windsor Town Council to get a new dog pound, and funding was approved in the fiscal year 2012 budget.The current dog pound is located at 69 Mechanic St. and is looming toward demolition as the town is seeking to sell the property and develop it into housing.

Windsor had proposed the idea of joining into a regional agreement with Windsor Locks for a community dog pound, but Sampson vehemently disagreed. “We have more than 2,800 dogs licensed in our town,” said Sampson.  “Windsor Locks has just 1,100 dogs licensed and has a part-time animal control officer. We need our own facility.”

Sampson complimented the Town Council, Town Manager Peter Souza and Assistant Town Manager Emily Moon for working with the Friends, listening to their concerns and ideas and ultimately funding a new facility.The town is still exploring options and locations for a new facility, and one is expected to be named in the next few months.