Adopt-A-Dog at Home and on the Road

Allyson Halm and Kristin Alouisa keep a busy schedule. Saturday's open house at Adopt-A-Dog's sanctuary and shelter, located just over the Connecticut state line in Armonk, NY, was a lot of work, but a big success.

On Monday, Patch caught up with the duo during a visit to the preschool at First Congregational Church of Greenwich.

"We found homes for three puppies and interest in both Spike, the five-year-old Chihuahua mix, and Charlie the young yellow lab mix," said Halm during the preschool visit. "The three puppies went home the next day."

Pet Week at First Congregational Church Preschool
At First Congregational Church, the preschoolers, aged 3-5, had just completed Pet Week, comprised of five days of animal-themed learning activities and guest visitors. Monday's visit from Adopt-A-Dog staff and "Topaz," a 12-week-old hound puppy, was a thank you treat for the wee ones who had taken up a collection of items from the Adopt-A-Dog's wish list.

"This was the youngest group of children ever to do a collection for our wish list," said Halm. Items in the heaping pile of donations included tennis balls, leashes and collars, blankets and dog biscuits.

According to First Congregational Church preschool veteran teachers Duly Chiappetta and Mary Jane Kraus, highights of the "pet-themed week" included a visit from a veterinarian from Greenwich Animal Hospital who shared x-rays of a dog pregnant with puppies, an x-ray of dog who had swallowed a toy, and an x-ray of a dog's teeth.

The children were also paid a visit by a veterinary technician who talked about tasks including greeting animals, holding them during shots, and prepping them for surgery.

The icing on the cake for the children was meeting "Topaz," who patiently greeted and gave kisses to about 50 preschoolers on Monday. Topaz was one of a litter of seven puppies rescued from North Carolina by Adopt-A-Dog. At Saturday's open house, several of Topaz's siblings were selected by families and went home on Sunday. Only Topaz remains, though there are other puppies available for adoption including adorable pit bull mix puppy Shamus and his mother Crystal, age 2, a very sweet girl who is really just a puppy herself.

In fact, though puppies are adorable, there are numerous highly-adoptable and lovable dogs waiting for forever homes from Adopt-A-Dog, including Spike, Sunny and Charlie who made a lot of friends at Saturday's open house event.

On Saturday, Charlie enjoyed galloping around the fenced-in yard at the Armonk sanctuary, yet, each time a visitor arrived, he trotted over for a polite introduction. Charlie had a forever home, but became displaced after the Hurricane Sandy. There were families interested in Charlie at the open house, but as of today, he remains available for adoption. Check out this video of Charlie meeting Patch.

Another dog available for adoption is Sunny, who enjoyed the brisk early spring Saturday at the Adopt-A-Dog open house. Sunny is part Chow, as evidenced by her spotted tongue. 

Spike the 5-year-old chihuahua mix greeted all guests on Saturday with a chill nod of the head. Not one to bark, Spike moved slowly but swiftly from guest to guest making them all feel welcome.

Adopt-A-Dog's shelter and sanctuary is located just over the state line in Armonk, just up Riversville Road at the intersection of Route 22, (23 Cox Ave.) For adoption information or general questions, email info@adoptadog.org or call (914) 273-1674.

Adopt-A-Dog is always on the lookout for local scout troups, and school groups interesting in helping out with collection drives for items on the long wish list. Anyone interested can call Adtopt a Dog.