This past weekend, volunteers, fosters, adopters and, of course, lots of our lovable Pyrs came together to celebrate twelve years of saving Great Pyrenees and the two-year anniversary of our New Beginnings Kennel. What a beautiful sight to see all the Pyrs together in one place! The weather was sunny but cool, perfect for fall and the dogs! We had a great turnout, with local volunteers as well as volunteers from New York, Connecticut, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and California! It was wonderful to finally meet in person the people we have only known through Facebook, emails and phone calls and to make new friends and connections. The event was also open to the public for the first four hours, and many people came out to show their support. Everyone had the opportunity to meet the kennel dogs as well as Mikey, the kennel cat!
One major celebration of the weekend was the official opening of the new play yards at New Beginnings Kennel. A very generous donor, The Friends of St. Francis, donated the money for the project, which gives the kennel dogs lots of room to run and play. Michael Chakeres, Friends of St. Francis, presented Barbara Mattson, CEO of NGPR, with a check and they commemorated the event with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The dogs at the kennel are loving their new play space!
The weekend brought many other reasons to celebrate. Baby Samson, who has been at the kennel for 20 months, left to go to his wonderful new foster home. We also received new applications for kennel volunteers and spoke to a number of potential new foster families. Roman Gottfried, Holistic Trainer, provided one-on-one Q & A for our attendees, answering training and behavioral questions. And our 18 raffle baskets raised money to help us save more Pyrs in need.
Gus, who lost his leg due to a gunshot wound, found his forever home. His new mom, Robin, attended the event with one of our volunteers, not intending to look for a dog to adopt. But she met Gus, and it was love at first sight!
The NGPR-New Beginnings Kennel Bash, Bonfire, and Brunch was a weekend of fun, friends, food, and fluffies. Treasured time with friends, both old and new. A huge thank you to those who worked to put the event together, and a huge thank you to all those who attended! It was a wonderful weekend and we are already looking forward to the next event!
We want to offer a special thanks to our hosts, Susan and Terry Brennan, from Lucky Mutz, who share their kennel property with NGPR. They opened their home and hearts to our dogs and volunteers and made this a special time for everyone.
