Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series focusing on a day in the life of a large-animal veterinarian’s practice in the tri-corner region.
STANFORDVILLE — To travel with Dr. Isaac Angell of Bentley Veterinary Practice for a day was to witness a veterinary practitioner completely enamored with his work, and deeply connected to the region where he does that work.
Bentley Veterinary is a large-animal practice that specializes in farm animals. Its patients tend to fall on the large, stinky and hard-working side of the domesticated animal kingdom rather than the small, fluffy and genteel side.
On a recent January morning as we wended our way through the misty, dramatic hills of eastern Dutchess County and Litchfield County in Angell’s mobile animal-care truck — equipped with ultrasound, an array of medications, and surgical capabilities — Angell took the time between our various stops to share reflections from a lifelong devotion to veterinary medicine.
“I have a deep excitement for what we do. A tremendous respect for the field of veterinary medicine, and for my fellow practitioners … I often say it’s the animals that get you in, and it’s the people that make you stay.”
A soft-spoken man, quick to smile and quicker still to shift the spotlight from himself, Angell reiterated throughout the day his desire for our time together to spotlight the whole of veterinary medicine rather than his work alone.
“I think about that quote from ‘The Boys in the Boat’: ‘You can’t just write about me, you gotta write about the boat!’ The whole picture, the difficult parts and the joyful parts, are what make the job what it is … Still, for me, being a vet has always been a passionate dream.”
An average day for Angell or the other three veterinarians at Bentley often includes three to four visits — on busy days, that looks more like six or seven. While that might sound manageable, Angell’s practice offers service to an area larger than some states, from Canaan, Connecticut, to Woodstock, New York, to Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Much of Angell’s day is spent on the road between properties.
The necessity for this kind of travel can be traced to decades-long changes to the social and economic geography of the region. In 1972, there were 275 working dairy farms in Dutchess County. In 2022, there were just 15. While dairy production in the region has steadily increased, belying an emphasis on industrial-scale dairy farming, the number of working farmers has dropped steeply off a cliff.
“Growing up, on my road alone there were 10-11 dairy farms. Now there’re none.”
Angell and his wife and five children are the fourth generation of Angells to live on his family’s property. While he loves to work with all the clients he provides service to, Angell admitted to a bit of a soft spot for those who make a living working with animals: the vocational farmers that have grown rarer and rarer in the region. Helping those folks when able keeps him connected to the culture and tradition he was raised in.
Our day’s journey very much emphasized those connections, and consisted of three farm visits and a few social calls.
Old goats, vaccine shots, and estate farming
Our first stop was at a beautiful estate farm in the Northeast Corner. Angell characterizes estate farms as those properties owned by wealthier folks with a large amount of land and a desire to use some of that land for small-scale farming. Often, these estates hire full-time workers to manage the land and care for the animals, and those workers frequently come from the pool of inter-generational farming families that used to operate farms of their own.
Two old goats, 15 years apiece, and three donkeys received Angell’s practiced care that day.
Aside from the unending stares, everybody behaved themselves — shots were administered with minimal kicking and teeth were checked without biting. In addition to providing medical services, Angell also gave the animals’ caregivers advice on what feed to use, how much to give, and even where to buy certain products at a reasonable price.
The conversation between Angell and the property managers was easy and familiar, and the importance of maintaining good relationships is an element to his work that Angell considers both crucial to his success and one of the major perks of the job.
“I was taught pretty early on the value of developing a rapport with a client. You can’t treat the animal without the client.”
Angell’s range of clients means he often has to meet folks where they’re at in terms of the relationship they have to their animals. In addition to vocational farms, Bentley Veterinary works with three main types of clients: rescues and sanctuaries, backyard or estate farms, and equine organizations. An animal sanctuary may have thousands to spend on animal care, and a mission-driven investment in pursuing involved treatments. At a vocational farm, the reality can come down to economics, and many farms don’t have the money to spare.
Accordingly, Angell tries to approach every client with empathy and an understanding of where their decisions might be coming from, whether it’s a deep attachment to an animal or, sometimes, the lack of it. Developing a relationship with the person behind the animal helps him understand those perspectives and offer the kind of care that will align with their needs.
This clueing-in to the emotional component of veterinary medicine is an element to the job that Angell considers vitally important as well as often underemphasized.
“Unless you let it affect you on an emotional level, you’re not doing it right. You’ve got to have some sleepless nights, worrying about a case, or you’re not going to push yourself to become better quite as hard.”
Our day required little by way of difficult decisions —and on the estate farm, it was as clear as day that the property managers cared deeply for the animals in their charge. They worried after the right balance of feed to avoid bloat, mused on the personalities of the donkeys, and remarked on some of the humorous side effects of their job.
“Working with animals, you get used to a whole bouquet of smells you never thought you’d get used to. Knowing, ‘Oh, that’s not right!’ when you catch a hoof smelling a particular way.”
The Norfolk Pub, the town’s only restaurant and bar, will close at the end of the month, prompting concern among residents about the future of the Royal Arcanum building.
The Royal Arcanum, a large Arts and Crafts-style brick building, was built in 1904 by architect Alfredo Taylor as a home for the Norfolk Fire Department and several other town groups. Today, it houses the bookstore Les Renards & Co.; audiovisual consulting firm Boyce Nemec Designs, which has occupied a ground-floor office since the 1970s; Ruthann Olsson Interior Arts and Design; and the Pub.
The building also has contained additional office space and several residential apartments. According to a source close to the building, none of the residences were occupied at the time of the sale in September.
Local nonprofit the Norfolk Hub, which executed the sale, originally acquired the building in 2021 for $950,000 with assistance from a gift from the William and Mary Greve Foundation. In an Oct. 4 release, the group announced that $300,000 of the September sale proceeds had been allocated to the Foundation for Norfolk Living, a local affordable housing nonprofit, to support future housing projects.
An additional $500,000 was directed toward supporting the proposed firehouse project, according to the release.
The building’s new ownership — comprised of clothing designer Emily Adams Bode Aujla, her husband Aaron Aujla, an interior designer, and his brother Dev Aujla, CEO of Bode — has yet to announce plans for the Royal Arcanum, leaving many in town to speculate about what will occupy the vast structure.
Residents have been particularly concerned about the loss of the village’s only restaurant and bar, which has operated in the same location for decades under various names and owners.
Larry Hannafin and Sally Carr, both lifelong Norfolk residents with generations of family history in town, organized a petition in late December protesting the closure. “The pub is far more than a business,” the petition reads. “It is a vital gathering place, an economic anchor, a significant employer and a cornerstone of our town’s character.”
During an interview in late December with The Lakeville Journal, Hannafin and Carr expressed dismay at what they described as the loss of critical community infrastructure. “To live in a town that you can’t take a friend to supper with!” Carr exclaimed with exasperation.
“When I grew up there were five restaurants and five grocery stores,” Carr added.
Hannafin said he sent the signed petitions — which he last counted at 295 — to American Folk & Heritage on Wednesday. As of Friday, he said he had not received a response.
Dev Aujla said in a late December email to The Lakeville Journal that the closure followed a “conversation” between the new ownership and Norfolk Pub owner Heidi Forler. He did not elaborate and has not responded to follow-up requests for clarification. Forler declined to comment.
Norfolk Public Information Officer Jon Barbagallo said in late December that the town fire marshal was not involved, responding to circulating rumors that suggested otherwise. “This is strictly between the owners of the new building and the proprietors of the restaurant.”
Despite the imminent closure, the bar is maintaining its lively programming, with its popular trivia night returning on Wednesday, Jan. 14, followed by live music the following night.
Still, residents have begun mourning the loss of the town’s only watering hole and evening eatery, while looking anxiously toward the future.
A regular patron sitting at the bar Thursday evening praised the restaurant’s communal atmosphere. “Everyone knows everyone – it’s so great.” She described the closure as “tragic.”
First Selectman Henry Tirrell said Friday that the establishment has been a fixture his entire life and that he even spent the evening of his wedding day there. “It’s a sad thing to see it going away,” he said. “I certainly hope something can be restored there.”
Meanwhile, Lindsey Prevuznak, who has worked as a bartender at the Pub for a decade, announced the closure in a Facebook post Wednesday. Speaking with The Lakeville Journal on Friday, she reflected on the deep ties the establishment has with the community, describing its loss as “a heart break for entire community whose lives we enriched and touched.”
“I’m deeply grateful and humbled to have shared moments with such remarkable people.”
A notice posted on the door of the Norfolk Pub informs patrons that the establishment will accept cash only as it prepares to close at the end of the month. By Alec Linden
Bryan Monge Orellana and Janneth Maribel Panjon Guallpa of Amenia are the parents of Ethan Nicolas Monge Panjon, Sharon Hospital’s first baby of 2026.
Later that morning, twins were born to Belinde and Erick Garcia of New Milford. Gabriella Garcia arrived at 8:17 a.m., weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces and measuring 19 inches. One minute later, at 8:18 a.m., Isabella Garcia was born weighing 5 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 18.5 inches.
Belinde and Erick Garcia, of New Milford, are the parents of twins Gabriella and Isabella, who were the second and third babies born in Sharon Hospital in 2026. Their older siblings, Matthew, 6, and Melanie, 3, are pictured. Photo provided
Area ambulance squad members and several first selectmen attend a Jan. 5 meeting hosted by Nuvance/Northwell to discuss emergency service providers.
“We haven’t missed a beat; we’re still taking calls,” said Andrea Downs, president of the Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department and an employee of NDP, speaking at the meeting, which was attended by ambulance squad members, first selectmen and representatives of Sharon Hospital.
Sharon Hospital announced Dec. 11 that it would not renew its annual agreement with NDP, ending a 28-year relationship and initially stating that service would cease Jan. 1. Hospital President and CEO Christina McCulloch said the decision was based on compliance concerns tied to the hospital’s role as sponsor.
“Being a sponsor is a big deal,” McCulloch said. “Our concerns were big enough that we couldn’t sign. It was a difficult decision.”
She said the hospital had discussed the issues with NDP representatives and cited unmet state requirements.
Without a sponsoring hospital, NDP could not operate in Connecticut. That issue was resolved when NDP finalized an agreement with Stamford Hospital, allowing it to continue providing services in the Northwest Corner.
At the same time, Sharon Hospital is establishing a hospital-based paramedic service through Nuvance/Northwell, owner of the hospital. Under the current model, the service consists of a single paramedic, who begins the day at New Milford Hospital before traveling to Sharon, prompting concerns from some volunteer ambulance crews about response times while that paramedic is in transit.
Addressing those concerns, hospital officials said while the new paramedic service covers a wide area, so too does NDP, which is based out of Rhinebeck. Some volunteer ambulance crews also said their concerns relate to the transition to two providers, with Sharon Hospital’s service still being built out and not yet fully stationed in Sharon.
Falls Village First Selectman David Barger asked whether more than one paramedic service could operate in the region.
“There could be more than one,” McCulloch said.
Matt Cassavechia, director of emergency services for Sharon Hospital, said Litchfield County Dispatch, which handles all ambulance and fire dispatching for the region, will call whichever paramedic service is available at the time of an emergency.
He acknowledged that the current arrangement could be improved and said the hospital hopes to expand on-site paramedic coverage in Sharon. Doing so would require state approval through a need-for-service application, which Cassavechia said would benefit from letters of support from the community and area first selectmen.
Several volunteer ambulance representatives expressed concern about how changes could affect basic life support services and volunteer operations. Cassavechia said the hospital does not intend to replace volunteer squads.
“We’re not snapping up patients,” he said. “That’s not what we do. We are deliberate and purposeful. We have zero intent of putting volunteers out of business.”
Questions were also raised about possible delays in transferring patients from Sharon Hospital to other facilities. McCulloch said the hospital has been experiencing high emergency room and inpatient volumes but has not seen unusual wait times.
Michelle Hansen of the Falls Village ambulance squad cited a recent case involving a cancer patient who needed to be transported to Yale New Haven Hospital and was reportedly told by Nuvance that there would be an upfront cost of $2,000. NDP ultimately completed the transport.
“That is certainly not our practice,” said Thomas Horkan, Sharon Hospital’s EMS coordinator. “As soon as we were made aware, we took corrective action. It was human error. I listened to the tape. It was unfortunate.”
State Rep. Maria Horn, D-64, attended the meeting to assess how the changes might affect patient care and costs. Cassavechia said billing practices vary among ambulance providers and that clearer rules of engagement would need to be established with local squads.
After the discussion, Sharon First Selectman Casey Flanagan said the outcome appeared reassuring.
“It seems we’re going to have bonus coverage,” he said. “So, I’m OK with this.”
Nuvance/Northwell employees host a Jan. 5 meeting on emergency service providers. From left: Matt Cassavechia, Sharon Hospital director of emergency services; Christina McCulloch, Sharon Hospital president and CEO; Thomas Horkan, Sharon Hospital EMS coordinator; and Dr. Ron Santos, Sharon Hospital emergency room director.By Ruth Epstein
