WEST CORNWALL — Construction is well underway for the Little Guild’s new 7,000-square-foot animal shelter at 285 Sharon-Goshen Tpke. (Route 128).
The new facility will help the Little Guild continue to rescue homeless cats and dogs by adding quarantining capabilities, modern air ventilation, soundproofing, a community room for free vaccination clinics, and spacious play areas for the animals.
For Executive Director Jenny Langendoerfer, who lives in Norfolk, this is the fruition of a longtime dream.
“We are incredibly grateful for the fantastic community support that allowed a new animal shelter for the Little Guild to happen. It will make a tremendous difference to the animals we care for and the community we serve,” said Landendoerfer.
The mission of the Little Guild is to rescue, love, and heal homeless cats and dogs and help them find homes. Founded in 1957 by Muriel Alvord Ward and Eleanora Kleinschmidt, Little Guild is now the largest no-kill animal shelter in northwest Connecticut. The 501(c) 3 organization boasts a 97% save rate, one of the highest in the nation.
The Little Guild raised more than $3,750,000 to build the new facility, which will be named in honor of Robert R. Rosenheim and is expected to be completed by November 2025. The Robert R. Rosenheim Foundation, based in Bristol, provided “abundant support” for the Little Guild’s construction efforts.
“We are honored to be part of Mr. Rosenheim’s legacy of love for animals,” said Langendoerfer. “The new facility will allow us to aid more animals and pet owners in the community. The calm and healing environment, quarantine capabilities, plus designated areas for adopters and volunteers to meet and socialize with the animals, will have a major impact, decreasing the length of stay and increasing the number of animals we can help.”
Michael DeBarba, certified dog trainer at the Little Guild, hugging Danica, a one-year old available rescue dog. “I am excited to help as many dogs and people as I can.”Jennifer Almquist
Justin Giampaolo, president and project executive for Burlington Construction oversees the project. Burlington Construction began working with the Little Guild four years ago.
Giampaolo, who expressed his love for animals, stood on the slab of concrete that stretched like a soccer field behind him, folded his arms and explained, “We began the site work late summer. We did all the underground plumbing and poured the slab. The insulated metal panelized building and roof panels have been ordered.”
“Erecting the facility will take about a month, then we start on interior walls and wiring. There will be a chain link fence that runs the perimeter, and each of the dog pads have their own areas, so that all the dogs have their own space,” said Giampaolo.
Chief Architect Christopher Nardi, principal of Silver Petrucelli & Associates, in Hamden, specializes in animal shelter design.
The Little Guild runs an on-site community pet pantry, offering free pet food and supplies to those in need. According to Langendoerfer, “The demand has increased in the last six months and through the generosity of the Northwest CT Community Foundation, we have expanded the program throughout Litchfield County with monthly events in Torrington, Sharon, Canaan, and Winsted.”
A new initiative, the Lasey Fund, is named after a benefactor’s beloved dog who serendipitously loved going to the veterinarian. The fund provides financial assistance for veterinary care to eligible Litchfield County residents. Langendoerfer explained, “You qualify if you’re getting state assistance. We can help with payments for a pet’s big surgery, or can help defray the cost of spaying, neutering, health checks, or dental work. Our director of development Priscilla McCord, of Lakeville, was the catalyst for establishing this fund.”
The Little Guild’s Great Country Mutt Show will be held rain or shine on Sunday, June 8, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville. This Westminster-style show is free and “celebrates all breeds and creeds — purebred dogs are welcome too.”
Scot Haney from Channel 3 and Richard Schlesinger from “48 Hours” will be on hand June 8 with famed animal trainer Bill Berloni as one of the judges.
Dogs participate in categories such as: Junior (humans under age 12) Most Unidentifiable Mix, Sweetest Pair of Dogs, Best Ears, Best Trick, Best Lap Dog Over 40 lbs, Best Senior, Best Kisser, and Waggiest Tail.
Heavy stone garden ornaments, a specialty of Judy Milne Antiques from Kingston, at Trade Secrets 2025.
Van Ginhoven points to towers of boxes containing event programs, various ribbons, elegant decor and stacks of magazines, all in preparation for the event.
Project SAGE will celebrate its 26th year hosting Trade Secrets, but it’s so much more than a garden event.
“It’s a fundraiser for domestic violence prevention and intervention,” van Ginhoven said. “Anybody who attends knows they’re supporting a really meaningful and important cause.”
The fundraiser accounts for at least 30 percent of the organization’s overall budget, she said, and attracts around 3,000 people from across the region each year, creating an unmatched opportunity for Project SAGE to share its mission and generate support.
The event, though expensive to produce, generates enough income to significantly support Project SAGE’s direct services and prevention services.
Officials said a wave of new underwriters have emerged this year.
“We’re very grateful, because we live in a time when funding is uncertain,” van Ginhoven said.
Hundreds of copies of the annual Trade Secrets guide sat at Project SAGE headquarters, ready for distribution at the event. The book doubles as a domestic violence resource, complete with warning signs, myth-busting information and scripts for difficult conversations.
Volunteers will be present throughout the event to connect with community members. Each volunteer must be certified as a domestic violence counselor in order to work with Project SAGE.
“It means they can help us drive clients, move clients, take them to appointments or the grocery store,” van Ginhoven said.
Project SAGE officials said education about domestic violence should start early. The organization has developed a comprehensive curriculum spanning early childhood through grade 12 and visits schools throughout the region. The class of 2026 will be the first graduating class at Housatonic Valley Regional High School to have received all four years of training from Project SAGE.
Martha Stewart signing her new book at Trade Secrets 2025.Christine Bates
The organization’s partnerships extend throughout the region and include on-site training in schools and nonprofit organizations, including the Sharon Playhouse. Community support also goes directly to Project SAGE, including a recently donated array of colorful gift bags bearing positing affirmations and filled with toiletries and basic necessities from students at the Frederick Gunn School in Washington, Connecticut.
The people who visit Project SAGE have often left uncomfortable or dangerous situations and leave without any belongings.
“Some of them have nothing,” van Ginhoven said. “They just show up because they had the courage to leave.”
Project SAGE staff say many referrals come through local hospitals, police and sister agencies.
The organization serves people in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York.
With the stress of event planning mounting, van Ginhoven spent a “previous life” preparing for this exact moment. She spent 30 working at the intersection of arts and activism, having co-founded WAM Theatre, a Lenox-based organization focused on stories and issues affecting those who self-identify as women and girls. During her tenure, WAM donated $100,000 to 25 local and global organizations working toward gender equity in areas such as girls’ education, teen pregnancy prevention, gender-based violence, sexual trafficking awareness and midwife training.
“I love the adrenaline of putting on a show,” van Ginhoven said with a laugh. With the help of volunteers and organizers, she said she isn’t bothered by the stress.
“The show will go on,” she said.
Caroline Kinsolving and Gary Capozzielo at home in Salisbury with their dogs, Petruchio and Beatrice
“We met during the pandemic, a bleak time,” Kinsolving said. “On our first date, we met at The Hickory Stick Bookshop and walked outside six feet apart. We fell in love.”
They lived in a tiny studio near Averill Farm in Washington, Connecticut.
“He played his violin, I worked on my lines, we walked the dog, and suddenly we were circling each other perfectly,” Capozziello said with a laugh. “When I told her I was a violinist, she mentioned ‘Appalachian Spring’ by Aaron Copland. I sent her a recording of me playing it, and it became our song.”
“For our wedding, we wanted all our friends and family out in the field listening to that music,” Kinsolving said. Capozziello’s friends from Orchestra New England performed the piece at their wedding.
“Circus Fire,” written by Connecticut’s own Jacques Lamarre and directed by Jared Mezzocchi, is a multimedia world-premiere tribute to the Hartford Circus Fire. On July 6, 1944, the big top of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus caught fire, killing 167 and injuring 700 in Connecticut’s worst fire disaster.
Capozziello, who grew up in Fairfield, began: “I came from very limited means, though my parents gave me the kind of support that mattered most. I had a hard time in school. My music teachers, noticing my knack for music, kept me in school.” As he became a teenager, he realized how demanding classical violin truly is. “I had the honor of playing in a master class for Isaac Stern when I was 18,” he said. “That was the wake-up call. He was relentless with my intonation, telling me I must ‘feel the fire in my belly.’”
At SUNY Purchase, he “met a wonderful violin teacher who taught me to play, study and practice five hours a day.” After studying at the New England Conservatory, Capozziello earned his doctorate from The Hartt School in 2018. He now teaches at The Hotchkiss School and performs with the Hartford Symphony.
He explained that his role as assistant concertmaster is the direct line between conductor and musicians, and that the orchestra is “a family dynamic, a democratic unit, truly a living, breathing organism.”
Caroline Kinsolving and Gary Capozzielo Jennifer Almquist
On May 2, Capozziello was soloist with Orchestra New England, performing the world premiere of Neely Bruce’s “Concerto for Violin,” along with “The River” by Jan Swafford and Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” at Battell Chapel at Yale.
“I care about bringing classical music into communities and spaces where people may not expect it,” said Capozziello.“Music is most powerful to me when it feels alive, humanand accessible, not distant or formal.”
For 20 years, Kinsolving has acted in film, television and theater in London, New York and Los Angeles. “I was first onstage at Washington Montessori School playing Peter Pan,” she said. “I improvised a line, got a laugh and liked the feeling.”
She enjoys performing Shakespeare. “I love Titania’s monologue because it speaks to our current climate crisis. Lady Macbeth surprised me. I fell in love with her while I was doing it. I could play those scenes forever; so much range and depth to explore,” she said.
Kinsolving added, “I love Shakespeare’s comedies for the fun and rhythm. I have loved Rosalind, Viola, Olivia, Helena and Kate, yet the top of my bucket list is Beatrice. Each character reflects a shade of my soul. Shakespeare had the brilliance to illuminate them. If I ever get a tattoo, it will be a list of their names.”
Kinsolving, whose parents, poet Susan Kinsolving and author William Kinsolving, live in Lakeville, studied at Milton Academy, universities in China, and Vassar College. Her theater training includes Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Yale Drama Intensive and she is currently studying online through Juilliard.. She founded Theatre for Good, which donates its proceeds to charity.
Both artists are looking forward to June, when they will have more time to spend with their dogs.
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