Little Guild breaks ground for future animal shelter

Architect Christopher Nardi and his son Everett break ground for the new home of The Little Guild in West Cornwall.
Jennifer Almquist
Architect Christopher Nardi and his son Everett break ground for the new home of The Little Guild in West Cornwall.
CORNWALL — The Little Guild of Saint Francis for the Welfare of Animals held a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday, May 11, to celebrate the beginning of construction of its 8,000 square foot facility at 285 Sharon-Goshen Turnpike in West Cornwall.
The mission of the Little Guild is to rescue, love, and heal homeless cats and dogs and help them find homes. Friends from surrounding communities, board members of the Little Guild, staff members, donors, and animal lovers gathered on the site of the future shelter.
Board President Karen Doeblin greeted everyone and thanked the many donors who raised $3.5 million for this project. Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway extended a welcome from the Town of Cornwall.
The morning sunshine streamed through the surrounding pine trees as the designated team donned their green construction helmets, bearing the Little Guild logo, picked up their nine gold shovels, and together dug their spades into the rocky soil.
Executive Director Jenny Langendoerfer, from Norfolk, expressed joy at the realization of this longtime dream: “We are so incredibly fortunate for all of the fantastic community support that allowed a new animal shelter for the Little Guild to happen. It is going to make a tremendous difference to the animals we care for and the community we serve. It’s really going to be something very special.”
Alexander Echevarria, canine behaviorist at The Little Guild, holding Cookie who would love a home.Jennifer Almquist
For three decades the Little Guild has been functioning in a residential house not designed to handle the normal wear and tear of an animal shelter, which made maintenance and repair difficult.
In 2023, 6.5 million companion animals entered U.S. animal shelters. According to the ASPCA, each year approximately 920,000 sheltered animals are euthanized, and 4.8 million shelter animals are adopted. There are 14,429 animal shelters in America. During Covid, 23 million Americans adopted a pet and over 90% of dogs adopted during the pandemic remain with their families.
The Little Guild, founded in 1957 by Muriel Alvord Ward and Eleanora Kleinschmidt, is now the largest no-kill animal shelter in Northwest Connecticut. The 501(c) 3 organization boasts a 99% save rate, one of the highest in the nation. They provide programs that “strengthen the bonds between pets and people, and partner with local organizations to support pet owners in the community.”
Christopher Nardi, from Hamden-based design firm Silver, Petrucelli & Associates is the chief architect for the project. He attended the ceremony with his young family. Their boy Everett eagerly participated in the digging. Architect Nardi said that designing animal shelters is his specialty, so the plans are well-researched and incorporate important considerations such as quarantine and noise reduction, strategic placement of animals, with designated areas for adoption meet and greets, and animal socializing. Everyone at the event was invited to view renderings of the proposed building and ask the architect questions.
After the symbolic breaking of ground, the speeches and applause, everyone was offered refreshments supplied by the staff, including cat and dog shaped cookies baked by Susan Boucher of Norfolk, who is also the assistant manager of the Little Guild.
This entire project has been funded by the generous donations of dedicated Little Guild supporters, as well as many community foundations including the Robert R. Rosenheim Foundation, the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation, the William and Mary Greve Foundation, the Draper Foundation, the Kathleen Bradford Foundation, the Seherr-Thoss Foundation, the Torrington Savings Bank Foundation, and the Town of Cornwall.
The Little Guild’s new building will be named in honor of Robert R. Rosenheim. “The Robert R. Rosenheim Foundation has been our partner in building this much needed new animal shelter from day one, we could not have gotten here without their abundant support every step of the way over the last three and a half years. We are honored to be a part of Mr. Rosenheim’s legacy of love and dedication to animals, said Little Guild’s Langendoerfer.
Tiffany Lemelin of Winsted is Little Guild kennel manager and gave a tour of the temporary facility in Foote Field on Furnace Brook Road in Cornwall Bridge, which opened two weeks ago and will serve as headquarters during construction. There are two large trailers, one housing cats, another their offices. They also purchased a large dog kennel. The dogs and cats currently sheltered at the Little Guild seem perfectly comfortable in their new digs. The staff said they have what they need to get through the next year. They were putting up a large tent to give shade to the dog run and situating a blue wading pool for the dogs to stay cool.
The new temporary home of the Little Guild at Foote Field on Furnace Brook Road in Cornwall.Jennifer Almquist
Alex Echevarria, from Torrington, is a canine behaviorist who trains dogs and teaches humans how to communicate with their dogs. He introduced each dog currently sheltering in the temporary housing and expressed optimism that a small wiry mutt named Cherry might find her forever home that day.
Director Langendoerfer explained, “The support of the Little Guild Board of Directors through this time of transition has been incredible. In keeping our operations running while the new facility is being built, they have enabled our dedicated staff to continue rescuing, loving and healing homeless cats and dogs, and to continue to serve the community.”
The Guild runs the Pet Pantry which supplies pet food and supplies to families in need through area food pantries, Animal Welfare Education taught by Echevarria, the annual No Cost Vaccination, neutering and spaying program in Coe Park in Torrington. The Guild also supports the Susan B. Anthony Foundation in Torrington and Project Sage in Lakeville by offering care for the pets of women suffering relationship violence.
This summer don’t miss the Great Country Mutt Show at Lime Rock Park on Sunday, June 9. It’s free and your dogs are welcome to register to compete in categories such as “Best Lap Dog Over 40 Pounds” or “Looks Most Like Owner.”
Langendoerfer, who has galvanized the Little Guild with her leadership for the past four years summed it up, “The capabilities of the new facility will have far reaching results, allowing us to aid more animals and pet owners in the community in the best of all possible ways. The calm and healing environment, quarantine capabilities and designated areas for adopters and volunteers to meet and socialize with the animals is going to have a major impact, decreasing the length of stay and increasing the number of animals we can help.”
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Cobbler n’ Cream
5 to 7 p.m.
Freund’s Farm Market & Bakery | 324 Norfolk Rd.
Canaan Carnival
6 to 10 p.m.
Bunny McGuire Park
Canaan Carnival
6 to 10 p.m.
Bunny McGuire Park
Cocktail Party
5 to 7 p.m.
Douglas Library | 108 Main St.
Canaan Carnival
6 to 10 p.m.
Bunny McGuire Park
Boot Drive
8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
North Canaan Fire Co. | 4 E. Main St.
3rd Annual Fly-In
8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Triumph Airfield | 547 W. Main St.
Canaan Railroad Station Museum
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Canaan Union Station
New England Accordion Connection
9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Canaan Union Station
Canaan Carnival
3 to 10 p.m.
Bunny McGuire Park
Berkshire Resilience Brass Band
5 to 8 p.m.
Canaan Union Station
Barbecued Chicken Dinner
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St. Martin of Tours | 4 Main St.
Canaan Fireman’s parade
6 p.m.
Rosa setigera is a native climbing rose whose simple flowers allow bees to easily collect pollen.
After moving to West Cornwall in 2012, we were given a thoughtful housewarming gift: the 1997 edition of “Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs.” We were told the encyclopedic volume was the definitive gardener’s reference guide — a fact I already knew, having purchased one several months earlier at the recommendation of a gardener I admire.
At the time, we were in the thick of winter invasive removal, and I enjoyed reading and dreaming about the trees and shrubs I could plant to fill in the bare spots where the bittersweet, barberry, multiflora rose and other invasive plants had been.Years later, I purchased the 2011 edition, updated and inclusive of plants for warm climates.
On the cover of the new edition, a quote from Adrian Higgins of The Washington Post boasts, “Michael Dirr is the oracle of ornamental horticulture. I trust his judgements implicitly.”I heartily disagree with Mr. Higgins:I blame this book — and my poor use of it — for some of my worst tree and shrub choices.
I realize some readers might find this declaration inflammatory. The book still occupies a place of high regard among experienced and novice gardeners alike, so please allow me to explain.
In addition to giving the reader his opinion on the aesthetic worthiness of the woody plants included in the book, Mr. Dirr makes good on the book’s title with a review of each species’ hardiness. What makes a tree hardy?It thrives in its intended site, resisting disease with leaves and bark not readily eaten by insects and other critters.
Non-native plants make up the majority of the recommended hardy plants in the book.And here is why:Native trees and shrubs are, by evolution’s design, food source and host to our native fauna — critters large and small. There is no substitute equal to the fauna’s co-evolved flora.A native caterpillar cannot eat a kousa dogwood leaf, as it has not evolved to digest it.Non-native plants seemingly have the advantage if the lens we look through values pristine, uneaten leaves.
In the days when there were sufficient thriving ecosystems to maintain local habitats, a non-native specimen tree here and there was just fine.But where we live in Northwest Connecticut, our woods, meadows, marshes and other natural areas have, for a couple of decades, been severely compromised by invasives that have almost entirely removed the food sources for native insects. It is up to us — now — to plant native plants to save the food chain.Without insects, not only will native animals die, but human food sources will also be at risk.
The security of our food pipeline seems a worthy exchange for some caterpillar-eaten leaves — and to be clear, we’re not talking about non-native infestations such as spongy moth, but rather native caterpillars, which are the singular food source for nesting birds.
My issue is that, in being a trusted source for plant selection, Dirr’s book should give equal — if not prioritized — space to information on ecological impact.For example, it would be good to know when selecting a tree, that a native oak provides food and other ecosystem services to more than 400 native animal species, while a native tulip poplar supports fewer than 30 — though that includes the Eastern tiger swallowtail. Including information on the birds and insects attracted to a given plant would enable reader to weigh these factors in choosing what to grow.But this information is not mentioned at all.
Dirr makes no mention of the role some of these plants have played in the degradation of our natural areas — an omission that is highly relevant, as many of the plants featured in his book are, in fact, invasive culprits. Plants like barberry, porcelain berry and tree of heaven are showcased for consideration alongside native plants without recognition of the devastating infestations they can manifest. Tree of Heaven is now responsible for hosting the spotted lanternfly, which is devastating crops.
Similarly Euonymous alatus (winged euonymous) and Actinidia arguta (hardy kiwi) — two highly invasive plants touted in the book — have been banned or are close to being banned for sale from nurseries in the state of Massachusetts. To his credit, Dirr does point out the invasive nature of Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet), calling it “a terrible and devastating escapee that terrorizes floodplains, fencerows and even open fields, reducing native vegetation to rubble.” Yet Japanese honeysuckle gets an understated warning, with Dirr describing this massively invasive shrub as “bullying their way into understory and open areas.”
The latest edition of Dirr’s book devotes seven pages of copy and photos to various Berberis species, about which Dirr waxes poetic. He notes the addition of “30 new cultivars” in the latest revision and complains that “this species is under assault for its aggressive invasive nature.” He refers to Berberis thunbergii — Japanese barberry, the most invasive of them all — as “the species of major importance in garden commerce.” This plant has already been outlawed for sale in New York, Pennsylvania, New Hamphsire and Maine.A few weeks ago, a bill was passed in Connecticut recognizing the harm of a broad group of invasive plants. Under this new legislation, barberry will be phased out from sale or transport by October 2028.
In understating the invasive nature of many non-natives and de-prioritizing the importance of native species, Dirr’s widely used reference may be partly responsible for many a devastated woodland, forest, meadow and marsh in New England — if not across the U.S.Certainly, the evolution of species, and scientific knowledge about the environment, is changing faster than new editions of books can be printed. I can only hope that if a new edition of Mr. Dirr’s reference book is in the works that it will account for this criteria we now know to be vital in plant selection.
Which brings me back to that quote on the cover from The Washington Post and the larger issue it suggests:Should “ornamental horticulture” get a pass when it comes to ecological survival?I think we can agree — it should not.The consequences are simply too destructive.
Dee Salomon ‘ungardens’ in Litchfield County.
Foxtrot Farm & Flowers’ historic barn space during UAW’s 2024 exhibition entitled “Unruly Edges.”
Art lovers, mark your calendars. The sixth edition of Upstate Art Weekend (UAW) returns July 17 to 21, with an exciting lineup of exhibitions and events celebrating the cultural vibrancy of the region. Spanning eight counties and over 130 venues, UAW invites residents and visitors alike to explore the Hudson Valley’s thriving creative communities.
Here’s a preview of four must-see exhibitions in the area:
1. Wassaic Project (37 Furnace Bank Road, Wassaic)
“So It Goes” is a powerful group exhibition curated by Eve Biddle, Bowie Zunino, Jeff Barnett-Winsby, and Will Hutnick. The title, drawn from Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five,” signals a reckoning with how we process the horrors of the world. Through play, reflection, and immersive scale, 43 artists respond with urgency and imagination. Installations can be seen throughout the town of Wassaic at Maxon Mills, Gridley Chapel, and Luther Barn, each space transformed by this deeply thoughtful show.
2. Foxtrot Farm & Flowers (6862 Route 82, Stanfordville)
“Queer Bestiary,” a group show curated by Charlotte Woolf, is inspired by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian’s book “Forest Euphoria.” The exhibition investigates queer ecology and human relationship to land through the work of 10 artists using painting, sculpture, textiles, and photography. The exhibit is accompanied by a variety of interactive experiences including tattoo pop-ups, karaoke, book readings, and pick-your-own flowers.
3. ChaShaMa North/ChaNorth (2600 Route 199, Pine Plains)
ChaShaMa North (ChaNorth) will have open studios all weekend and has partnered with Paradice Palase, a platform for emerging artists, to mount a site-specific sculpture exhibition featuring 20 artists entitled “Alone, You Are Heard.” On Saturday evening, July 19, stop by for Weird Music Night for an audio-visual synthesis of experimental music, performance art, and unexpected happenings. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience an eclectic lineup of acts that redefine the boundaries of performance.
4. Millbrook Arts Project(3 Friendly Lane, Millbrook)
The Millbrook Arts Project is hosting a curated exhibit entitled “Generated Utility” at the newly renovated gallery at the village library. The exhibit will feature the work of artists Natalie Beall and Kathy Greenwood. Additionally, visitors will have access to 12 open artists studios across town. The weekend culminates in a free outdoor concert on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. at the Millbrook Bandshell. Enjoy the Indie-Folk sounds of Strawberry Runners and She Keeps Bees.
For more information and a complete list of participating artists and locations, visit: upstateartweekend.org