CORNWALL — The Little Guild is having a clearance sale. All cats must go.If that sounds inhumane, nothing could be further from the truth. The cat and dog rescue shelter is already over its ideal capacity for felines, and this is the time of year when demand is high for a warm place for strays. And amend that to say: All cats will only be given to a good home.“So many people out there are trying to help by feeding stray cats, and giving them a garage or some other place for shelter. Now, we are overwhelmed with calls for cats out in the cold,” said Denise Cohn, executive director of the West Cornwall shelter. “We need to make room, and we know there are many people out there willing to help.”For the first time, the Guild is taking part in $5 Felines, a nationwide promotion by the Best Friends Animal Society. It is a way to help the organization’s goal of No More Homeless Pets.The Little Guild’s standard application process and good “matchmaking” efforts remain part of the process. The $5 adoption donation is an extreme reduction from the usual $150, which offsets the average $400 cost for taking an animal into the shelter. Many have to be spayed or neutered, all are vet-checked, treated and inoculated as needed and microchipped. Between Nov. 26 and Dec. 3 (excluding Monday and Tuesday), noon to 4 p.m., all are invited to come and meet the adoptable cats and kittens. The staff can answer questions about the cats’ personalities and can point out any special needs they might have. Any cat is just $5. At that price, why not get two?As of late last week, the shelter had 27 cats and kittens, with 22 of them ready and waiting.For a cat or dog, the Little Guild is not a bad place to be. Dogs have roomy kennels and an outdoor play yard. Cats lounge on cushy kitty beds and climb carpet-covered “trees” in visitor-friendly rooms. But it’s not the same as bonding with an individual or family. There are no long walks or sleeping knees to curl up behind on a cold winter night.There are often litters of kittens from which to choose two playful fur balls that will keep each other amused and provide endless entertainment.Cohn said the economy has resulted in a nationwide drop in pet adoptions of about 40 percent. “At the Little Guild, the dog adoption rate is actually up about 66 percent, and cats are only down slightly. We are the only shelter I know of that has not seen a big decrease.” She attributes it to the great conditions of their animals, thanks to generous donations toward their budget for medical care and facility maintenance; to volunteers who do chores and offer the attention the animals crave; and a high adoption success rate that comes from carefully matching animal personalities with individuals and families.Communication is also important. The Guild reaches out on Facebook, Petfinder and through its own regularly updated website. Applications can be completed at the Guild or online. Potential adopters are urged to do so in advance of choosing a pet, so that the cats and dogs can be placed in their new homes as quickly as possible.Yes, each cat that goes out the door at $5 represents a loss of income to the shelter, but it doesn’t matter, Cohn said.“Our mission is to help as many animals as we can. For every cat that is adopted, two lives are saved, because it makes room for us to take another cat in.”Best Friends Animal Society is a nonprofit organization and sanctuary based in Kanab, Utah. It provides extras such as networking for those who are trying in various ways to save animals, and trained emergency response teams to rescue animals in disaster situations. Its mission is to eliminate homeless pets and kill programs.
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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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