WEST CORNWALL — Where have all the cats gone?To good homes. A sale on cats at the Little Guild animal shelter worked out better than anyone had hoped. At this time of year, shelters see an influx of strays rescued from the cold. Already at capacity, the Little Guild staff aimed to make room by participating for the first time in “$5 Felines,” a nationwide promotion by the Best Friends Animal Society. From Nov. 26 through Dec. 3, the usual $150 adoption donation was drastically reduced. Families and individuals still had to go through the same rigorous application process, though, aimed at assuring a good match for humans and felines.“I came in that first Saturday and there were about 20 people waiting in the lobby,” Little Guild Executive Director Denise Cohn said. The week that followed was a swirl of activity, as visitors continued to come in to meet the 25 cats waiting for homes. Staff and volunteers worked long hours to welcome visitors and wade through stacks of applications. The end result was, as Cohn described it, “spectacular!”As of early this week, 19 cats were adopted and many applications were under review. Many cats had numerous families wanting to adopt them, and there was a lot of back and forth as people considered other choices. The sale ended with a waiting list of qualified families interested in adopting. It looks like the shelter will place all 25 cats it had on the premises; and more cats may be brought in from another shelter.For Little Guild workers, it was not just about the numbers. While they love their felines and offer them a comfortable home at the shelter, they know the cats would be much happier with a family. But there are always those that are difficult to adopt out. Zora, for instance, was there for more than five years, after coming in feral and very shy. A woman who has lots of experience with such cats took her home. Wasabi, at the Little Guild for more than three years, found shelter life stressful and would lick off patches of fur. The condition was expected to go away once she was in a loving home. But it was a turn-off for would-be adopters.“Unfortunately, many people missed her sweet personality while looking at the cats, but not this week,” Cohn said. “She went to a perfect home.”Then there was Holly, a very shy, young cat waiting a year for a home. She was not going to find one easily by hiding every time visitors came into the cat room. But with demand high, one couple coaxed her out and fell in love.“Overall it was a huge success, far beyond what we were expecting and we couldn’t be happier,” Cohn said. “We are now able to take in at least as many as we adopted out and get them in from the cold, fed and treated for any medical conditions they may have.”So what brought so many people out?Lots of publicity (newspapers, radio and Facebook), Cohn said, and a moving YouTube video Guild members made with photos of people, mostly children, cuddling with the shelter cats. $5 Felines put the shelter on the radar for many. Zora went home with an Oxford, Conn., family. Many others traveled considerable distances not only to take advantage of the sale, but to see the shelter.“Many people were adopting because of the price, but almost all gave more than the $5 requested. Some paid the full $150. Everyone understood the amount of money we put in to each cat to meet their medical needs and insure each is altered and up to date on all vaccines.“Some were waiting for a ‘better time’ to bring home a cat but once they saw the publicity, and met the wonderful cats, decided this was the ‘best time.’ We made a video that was adorable and we had some people who watched it email us and say, “OK, I really want that cat — the one with the little boy in the video.” Definitely the awareness of the need to get these cats in to homes and bring others in from the cold, and the knowledge of who The Little Guild is and what we do, played a large role in the success.”Word is spreading. Calls are already coming in from friends of families who adopted a cat, wanting to know about remaining cats, as well as available dogs. Cohn said that one dad left his children with the cats while he went to check out the kennels. The family went home with a cat and a dog.For more information about the Little Guild, and a link to the video (click on the “cats” tab) go to www.littleguild.org.
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One systemic consequence of slavery is the loss and obscuring of the histories of those who were enslaved. Records were often not kept about where Africans had been stolen from or who they were related to. Families were torn apart, leaving nothing but the faintest traces of the past. The delineation point, where genealogists can no longer trace histories back, is refered to this as the “document wall.”
Today, 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and more than 160 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, there is a growing effort to restore some of the history stripped from enslaved people and their descendants. Among the leaders of these efforts is Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works to identify previously anonymous Black Americans from history and connect them with their living relatives.
The work began with Mills’ sister, who started digging into their family’s past in the 1990’s and introduced him to this emerging world of genealogy. Through that process, the Mills family discovered their great-great-grandfather, Ned Mills, who had been enslaved in Texas. His last name came from his final enslaver and remains the family surname. Through their research, they found that the document wall directly affected their ancestor, who learned of his liberation on June 19, 1865, now commemorated as Juneteenth.
“For the first time,” Mills writes on his website, “American slavery wasn’t something that had happened to anonymous people in a history book. It had happened to my family.”
The discovery gave Mills a familial pride he had been missing for years. That pride fueled his desire to help others find their own history. In 2023, Mills received his certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. He has used his expertise to help descendants of enslaved people uncover histories they never dreamed of learning.
To do this, he uses a process called “reverse genealogy,” identifying a person from the past and working forward to discover their descendants. Along the way, Mills has found some remarkable people who fought for freedom on American soil, some of whom were never freed.
Pay Bill for Robin Starr’s service in the Continental Army.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
At the Cornwall Historical Society event, Mills will present the stories of four Connecticut families: Job Lathrop of Norwich, the son of Pirmus Armes, about whom Mills has published a book; Prince Mortimer of Middletown, also the subject of a book by Mills;, the three sons of London Wallace of Simsbury; and Robert “Robin” Starr of Danbury, who later lived in Cornwall and Sharon.
A few years ago, Cornwall Consolidated School social studies teacher Will Vincent reached out to Mills for research guidance on a local history project his students were undertaking. Together, they learned about Naomi Freeman of Cornwall. After purchasing an acre of land on Great Hollow Road in 1828, Naomi Freeman became the first Black female landowner in Cornwall.
The students petitioned the town to rename a road after the historic Cornwall resident In April 2025, Great Hollow Road was officially renamed Naomi Freeman Historic Road. U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes joined Mills and the Cornwall Consildated School students for a presentation of their research.
Since then, Mills has guided the students in their quest to learn more about Starr’s story. Starr was a Revolutionary War soldier who joined the Continental Army to earn enough money to buy his own freedom, receiving the Badge of Merit in the process. The stories of his descendents’ services are equally worthy of their own books.
In recognition of Mills and the students’ work, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway proclaimed Feb. 8 as Robin Starr Day.
Preregistration is required for the event at the Cornwall Historical Society. To learn more about Mills’ work, visit
alexbreanne.org.
John Mills speaking at Quinnipiac University.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
Stephanie Saetta runs Charlie Chicken Bones, a sanctuary in Salisbury.
Dogs have been at the center of Saetta’s life since childhood. She remembers going to the library to research different breeds and trying to convince her parents the family needed a dog. She had her heart set on an Irish Wolfhound, but she was more than happy when her mom brought home a West Highland terrier.
After college, she adopted Charlie as a puppy from a rescue on Long Island. He was a hound-shepherd-Rottweiler mix who suffered from intense seizures. Some veterinarians recommended euthanasia, but Saetta wasn’t ready to give up on him.
When Charlie would have an episode, she would sit with him, nose to nose, talking him through it. She learned to look for the moment he began to come around — when he could smell her again and his tail started to wag.
“You only get one or two of these soul connection dogs, so I do this in his honor,” Saetta said. “I like to think that all the dogs that come through are going to have that person that they connect with just the same.”
Through a network of women working to rescue animals in Texas, she learned about the desperate situations facing many dogs.
With limited space, some public pounds euthanize even healthy animals to make room. Limited access to veterinary care leaves sick dogs or unvaccinated puppies especially vulnerable.
Saetta saw that reality firsthand with a puppy named Gus, a Labrador mix she fostered who has since been adopted. Gus and his sisters had been dumped beside a road, where they were living under an abandoned car. People would leave food for them, but no one would take them to the pound.
“Even the people who rescue animals down there were like, ‘sadly, the best place for them to be is on the side of the road,’” she said. “That’s safer. Someone might actually help them that way.”
Saetta knows that there are far more dogs than any one person can save, but she also knows that helping one dog means one fewer on the street.
Stephanie Saetta,with her rescue dog George and Blue (left), a shepherd mix awaiting his forever home.Madi Long
Charlie Chicken Bone Sanctuary operates entirely through foster homes, a model that Saetta believes is best for the dogs and the humans hoping to adopt them.
Rather than moving directly from a difficult environment into a permanent home, the dogs have a chance to settle into a quieter setting. They can learn what it’s like to live with a family, sleep somewhere comfortable and receive affection without fighting for attention. Fostering also allows the rescue to really get to know each dog.
“As fosters, we’re honest,” said Saetta. We’ll tell you everything that’s been bad, everything that’s been good. What their temperament is and how they’ve responded to all the things they’ve experienced.”
A successful adoption is not just about finding a dog a home; it’s about finding the right home where the dog and family can thrive together.
Saetta is looking for more people willing to open their homes to foster dogs. She understands that the thought of growing attached and eventually saying goodbye can feel daunting. But she sees that goodbye a little differently.
Fostering means being part of a dog’s journey, even if only for a short time. It gives dogs a safe place to rest, the chance to trust again and the love they have gone without for much of their lives. And when the time comes for them to leave, it is not really a loss. It is the reward of knowing they are moving on to a forever home.
Blue, Saetta’s current foster, is hoping to find his perfect home.
Blue, a 7 year-old Shepard mix, is waiting for his forever home. Madi Long
Now around 7 years old, Blue spent most of his life wandering the streets of Texas. People sometimes left food out for him, but his mangy, dirty coat kept them from stopping to pet him. Today, he has a chance to experience something different.
Blue is still waiting for his forever home. Saetta believes he would do best as the only dog in a household or alongside another senior dog. He will need someone willing to continue working with him on his training and understand that a dog with his history needs patience.
But what he gives in return is a whole lot of love.
“He’s so enthusiastic, he’s so excited for life, he’s so friendly, and he’s got such a good heart, and he loves to cuddle,” Saetta said. “He’s a good, good, good dog.”
For more information on adopting Blue or how to foster, visit ccbsanctuary.org.
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