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In a follow up interview, Winchester Chief of Police Chris Ciuci said, “The number of dogs rescued is 27. The teams are still doing their work here. There were dogs loose, there were dogs in crates.”
“The search warrant is sealed so we can’t share any details associated with those investigations, or that search,” said Ciuci.
Each rescued dog will receive veterinary care and will be tagged and documented.Photo by Jennifer Almquist
Marshmallow, the missing dog that prompted the search, was not among the 27 dogs rescued on March 18.
The search began in January when the team at Angels for Mistreated Animals animal shelter, which initially rescued and rehabilitated Marshmallow before placing him in Smolak’s care in December 2024, stopped receiving updates from Smolak.
The animal shelter is a Brooklyn, New York-based, no-kill animal shelter with a mission to safeguard and rehabilitate animals that have experienced the most severe cases of abuse, neglect and abandonment.
After a month of no communication, Angels for Mistreated Animals learned that Smolak was fostering dogs from numerous agencies. A team of volunteers intervened in February.
Michele Walsh, board member of Angels for Mistreated Animals, coordinated a meetup with Smolak. “We were able to get seven dogs out of Sarah Smolak’s home in Winsted the night of Feb. 25,” she said.
Walsh said these seven dogs were in “grave condition” and were taken to a safe home on Long Island.
The dogs rescued from Winsted crossed state lines, prompting District Attorney Ray Tierney, of Suffolk County in New York, to open an investigation. Suffolk County’s BEAST Unit — which stands for Biological, Environmental and Animal Safety Team — began coordinating with Winchester Police and Harwinton Animal Control.
As for the 27 dogs rescued on March 18, Chief Ciuci said, “Every dog is being tagged, documented, will be examined by a vet, is being cared for, housed and treated, mostly by Harwinton Regional Animal Control. They had to enlist the help of the Torrington Animal Control.”
The investigation remains open and individuals with relevant information are asked to contact WPD at 860-379-2721.
Great Dane was among the 27 rescued dogs in Winsted March 18.Photo by Jennifer Almquist
The Mountaineer cheer squad amps up team spirit in front of a pink-themed student section during rivalry night against Lakeview High School on Feb. 5.
From left, Taylor Terwilliger, Vi Salazar, Elizabeth Allyn and Soren Trivelli make up the newly reformed cheer squad at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.Photo by Riley Klein
Terwilliger began her cheer career two years ago, teaming up with Gilbert School and Northwestern Regional High School cheerleaders on the sideline of Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic co-op football games. She attempted to form a cheer team for HVRHS basketball games last year, but there was not enough interest in the school.
“We didn’t have enough and according to coach, she said that they’ve been trying to start one since my freshman year, which was 2021,” said Terwilliger.
Cheer coach Melissa Colman cheered on the last school squad in 2004-’05. She now teaches at Salisbury Central School.
This year HVRHS junior Elizabeth Allyn and freshmen Soren Trivelli and Vi Salazar joined the GNH cheer team. When the football season ended, Terwilliger kept the group together to bring back Mountaineer cheer.
“We practice twice a week,” Terwilliger said. “And before games too,” added Allyn.
Aspects of competitive cheer, such as vaulting, were incorporated into the group's routine.Photo by Riley Klein
The team began cheering for boys and girls basketball during the recent season. They performed halftime shows at home games and created new chants and choreography with some help from their coach, the GNH squad and the internet.
“We also had some influence on the themes,” said Trivelli, referring to coordination of themed outfits in the student section such as neon, pink-out and Hawaiian. “We made the themes really pop off,” said Terwilliger.
Cheerleading is a varsity sport in Connecticut with a minimum team size of seven needed to compete. Berkshire League schools will participate in a season of cheer meets next year and HVRHS is hopeful to take part.
Allyn mentioned an upcoming summer clinic with cheerleaders from across the region. It will be held at Northwestern Regional High School.
“It’s to recruit and let people get the feel of it,” said Allyn. “And just to get more experience,” Salazar noted.
Contact HVRHS Athletic Director Anne MacNeil at amacneil@hvrhs.org for more info.
Halftime shows returned to HVRHS basketball games this year.Photo by Riley Klein
