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Health & Fitness

Doggone it! Bark at the Park fundraiser raises $2,300 for North Branford Dogpark!

Doggone it! The North Branford dogpark fundraiser was a great success! Hear details of the day and find out how you can get involved!

I'm happy to report that our first big fundraiser for the North Branford Dogpark was a great success!  With over 150 dogs coming together with around 750-1000 people, it was clear that there is interest and a desire to create a dog park of our very own here in North Branford.  There were no dog fights, no people fights, and everyone made sure that Totocket Valley park was left as clean as we found it.  We raised over $2,300 dollars from this event alone, which brings our grant total to around $4000.  That's a thousand dollars a month since we started fundraising!

After a few days of wet weather, the morning of the "Wag-A-Thon" was beautifully sunny and our participants had a great, three mile walk enjoying the beautiful town property behind Totocket Valley Park. 

The day of events at "Bark-at-the-Park" was very relaxing and fun and included the frisbee dog contest, a cute costume judging and parade sponsored by Poochie Play, a blessing of the animals and a demonstration by the K-9 police officers from local towns.

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Our many dog related vendors offered a chance to buy a fancy collar, a self-illuminating collar to use when walking your dog, pet enclosures, and many others (see below for a full list).

Thanks to the generosity of local businesses, we were able to hold a raffle with prizes donated by many local businesses (see below), we held a 50/50 raffle (won by Sam Bode--who donated $50 dollars right back!)--and we sold hot dogs to hungry participants. 

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The majority of money we raised, however, was from generous, individual people who really want to see the dog park become a reality.

We give a special thanks to Pam Gery and Pat Rossiter from the Parks and Rec department who were tireless in their efforts to make this event a success, and to Fran Merola and the Department of Public works who set up the stage and helped set up the field for our use.

If you would like to get more involved, please come to our next meeting of North Branford Unleashed, which will be held on November 1, 2012 at the NB Community Center at 7PM.  We will be discussing Bark at the Park and will be considering our next fundraising ideas.  Please email us at NorthBranfordUnleashed@gmail.com if you have any questions or want to be added to our mailing list.  AND...befriend North Branford Unleased on Facebook!

Again, thanks so much to the community for generously supporting this initiative.  We are gaining momentum!

Eric Hodgson

P.S.  If you can't donate your time by getting involved in meetings, please consider donating online via paypal or credit card through our website  www.NorthBranfordUnleashed.com.  Your tax-deductible donation of $25 dollars will make all the difference!

Vendors that were included in the day include the following: Pastry Fusions, Starbucks Coffee, Dunkin Donuts, Doggie Happy Meals by Annie's Pooch Pops, Romy's BBQ selling beef and pork shish kabobs, fried orios and funnel cakes, and North Branford Park and Recs who sold hotdogs and hamburgers.  Pet Beam, outdoor lighting on Four Legs, Best Buddy Biscuits, Royal Pet Care, ABC Obedience Dog Training and Supplies, Scissors Palace Beauty Salon selling high end grooming products for your pooch, Metro Pooch Daycare and Boarding, and All Wrapped Up, selling dog treats and home goods.

We received donations to be used for our Raffle from the following local businesses: Big Y, Country Farms II, Bobbi's Apizza, Pastry Fusion, Good to To, JCakes, Tony Z's Apizza, Supreme Seafood, Dunkin Donuts, Village Wine and Spirits, Giovanni's Restaurant, Jay & Lucy's Family Deli, John and Maria's Pizzeria and Restaurant, Doody's Totocket Inn, Outback Restaurrant, North Branford Community Center Fitness Room 6 month membership, Sunoco gas station, Save & Discount and a generous gift card from Ultimate Sports.

 

 

 

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