MILLERTON — American Legion Auxiliary Unit 178 in Millerton is raising money to sponsor a service dog for a war veteran. The organization they’re working with, Puppies Behind Bars (PBB), was founded by a resident of the Northwest Corner: Gloria Gilbert Stoga.When Puppies Behind Bars first started, its mission was to train puppies as guide dogs for the blind. After the terrorist attacks in 2001, they also started training dogs as Explosive Detection Canines (EDC). In 2006 they launched a new program called Dog Tags: Service Dogs for Those Who’ve Served Us. It is specifically for veterans of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or who’ve had a traumatic brain injury or other debilitating physical injury.Molly Jenks, first vice president of the Millerton auxiliary, said the organization chose to sponsor a dog as a project for their junior members and the community but also “to raise awareness about the plight of returning vets.“The stories of what these dogs can do to help a veteran with PTSD are just incredible,” she added.Service dogs in the Dog Tags program are trained very differently from guide dogs for the blind or other service dogs, such as search-and-rescue or therapy dogs. They all must learn the standard service dog commands such as come, sit, stay and down. And they all must be socialized. But a dog in the Dog Tags program will learn more than 80 commands. Just a few of the tasks they are expected to master are to turn on lights; open doors (including the refrigerator); distinguish between objects and bring the requested item; remind their veteran to take medications; and warn them of an approaching stranger.Long before they get to that level of training, the service dog will start its working life as an eight-week-old puppy living with an inmate at one of six correctional facilities in New York, Connecticut or New Jersey.Puppies Behind Bars purchases the puppies outright from a list of reputable breeders. Not all puppies are suited for a life as a service dog. At the end of their 18 months as a puppy behind bars, they are evaluated. Some dogs develop health issues, making them unsuitable. They must be healthy and free of any disabilities, including allergies and hip dysplasia.Gilbert Stoga was working in New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s office when she decided to start the Puppies Behind Bars program. She credits her inspiration for PBB to Dr. Thomas Lane, a Florida-based veterinarian who, every day on his way to work, passed the state prison in Gainesville. He saw the inmates standing around and thought they could be doing something productive and useful. He worked with the prison to start inmates training canines as guide dogs.Gilbert Stoga read an article about the program he had developed, and went to see him and study his methods. The program benefits both the inmate and the veteran. Working with inmates confined to medium- and maximum-security prisons, because they generally have longer terms of incarceration, the program is designed to contribute to the inmates’ social rehabilitation. An inmate must meet fairly strict criteria before they’re welcomed into the PBB program. The puppy then comes to live in the inmate’s cell and goes everywhere he or she goes within the prison community.And the inmate must be committed to training the dog.Gilbert Stoga said, “I am constantly bringing in articles about the soldiers that describe what they’re going through. We want the inmate/trainer to understand why we give the commands and how they will be used. “They have to take quizzes, and tests on a regular basis and read a lot of books. We give them homework. “Sometimes the puppy isn’t cut out for the work; and sometimes the inmate isn’t either.“We don’t consider the inmate to be a trained trainer until they’ve graduated one puppy. But we want them to learn and work with multiple dogs.”PPB also pays for correspondence courses for the inmates in veterinary assistance, animal grooming and training, so that when they are ready to be paroled they will have some real life-skills they can take with them.Just as the inmates are carefully screened before they are entrusted with a puppy, the veterans are also carefully screened before they receive a service dog. “A dog can be a complication,” Gilbert Stoga said. “It is not a magic wand. It’s a tool. If they can’t take care of themselves, then they won’t be able to take care of a dog.”In addition to the requirements regarding the war and the disability, they also must be in a stable living situation, be free of any drug or alcohol addiction for at least a year, be able to afford the cost of maintaining the dog, not have more than one dog already in the home and — most importantly — be committed to keeping up with the dog’s training.When they are first matched with a dog, they will spend two weeks at an on-site training facility, to get acquainted with the dog and learn how to communicate with it. After that, PBB has frequent check-ins to make sure that everything is going OK. Eventually those visits are reduced to an annual check-in.The organization has an enormous amount at stake in making sure that the match is a good one at every step of the way. A service dog will cost PBB, on average, $26,000 during its lifetime.So far, 39 dogs have graduated and been placed into service and PBB has 85 puppies in training. Since all of PBB fundraising is private, it is helpful when organizations such as the American Legion Auxiliary Unit in Millerton and private individuals sponsor a dog.To contribute to the auxiliary unit’s sponsorship, contact Molly Jenks at 518-789-6738 or send a check to the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 178, PO Box 22, Millerton, NY 12546. To contact Puppies Behind Bars go to www.puppiesbehindbars.com.
Latest News
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.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
