Residents at Wesley Village in Shelton share holiday love with rescue pups

Christine Parent, left, and Mary Petersell meet rescue pup.

SHELTON - Finding a place to call “home” for the holidays can be a waiting game for rescued pups in line for adoption at Companion Pet Rescue (CPR) in Southbury, so to help make the holidays a little brighter for these furry friends, residents at Crosby Commons Independent and Assisted Living Community decided to reach out by sharing puppy toys this Christmas.  

“We found a great idea for a do-it-yourself doggie toy that residents could make by hand and our Crosby Commons Cares Committee got busy,” said Lisa Bisson, Director of Community Outreach at the senior living campus.  

Bisson helped coordinate the project with Activities Director, Lauren Donovan.

“It was only a plastic water bottle filled with dog food, but we decorated it with holiday socks,” said Donovan. “It was an easy project with a little seasonal touch. We hope the dogs will love it!”

The Crosby Commons Cares Committee was formed earlier this year by a dedicated group of residents who gather regularly to work on community service projects and other meaningful initiatives. 

Residents support area community organizations and other important causes that matter to them. Last month they provided “Hearts of Hope” to the Griffin Hospital Center for Cancer Care for patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer and September’s project was a “Welcome Back” treat bag for local staff at Long Hill Elementary School. 

In addition to assisting with the project, Donovan knew residents would enjoy delivering the toys to the pups. 

"The residents light up when a family pet visits the community so I knew they would love a trip to CPR to deliver the toys and cuddle the pups," said Donavan. “I don't know who enjoyed it more - the puppies or the residents. The staff at CPR kindly brought the dogs out to our vehicle and the pups made themselves right at home on our residents’ laps. There were smiles all around - and plenty of cuddles and kisses.”

Crosby Commons resident Phyllis Buckley was happy to be part of the project from start to finish. “It was one of the best experiences I’ve had in quite a while. We’ve always had dogs in our family; they’re my favorite. The chance to sit and cuddle with the pups was just wonderful.”

Buckley’s friend and Crosby neighbor, Elsie Valeski, who also helped with the project, agreed. “They put one of the dogs in Phyllis’s arms and it was so calm and relaxed with her; it just snuggled right in.”

In addition to working with residents at Crosby Commons, Donovan also volunteers her time with CPR helping with adoption events and fostering pups waiting for their forever home.  

Both Donovan and Bisson have adopted pups from CPR.

“I hope we were able to share a little holiday love with these puppies who are waiting to meet their new families,” said Bisson. “They bring so much joy to so many people; we definitely did not want them to feel forgotten.”

 Wesley Village senior living campus is located at 580 Long Hill Ave. and is part of United Methodist Homes, a local not-for-profit organization. The Wesley Village campus offers independent and assisted living, enhanced assisted living, early memory support, skilled nursing and short-term rehab. 

To learn more about Crosby Commons, Wesley Heights, Lifestyle Transitions, or Bishop Wicke Health Center, visit our website or contact us at 203.225.5024. 

To become part of the Wesley Village team, visit our website at: https://www.umh.org/career-opportunities-at-umh.

About Companion Pet Rescue: CPR’s mission is rescuing and rehoming abandoned and neglected dogs. In addition to rescuing and rehoming dogs, we promote our own spay/neuter outreach program that allows us to assist families that need this service but can’t afford it. We focus our efforts on friendly, social, loving companion pets. 

We rarely assist in placing dogs with special needs or aggression - we simply are not equipped to rescue these dogs, as our dogs are heavily socialized with others (a doggy daycare environment), or in foster homes, almost all of which have children and other pets. 

While we always have more dogs in need than foster homes to help, we focus on the positive and what we can accomplish, this helps us save thousands of dogs in need! 

Please help us spread the word about our rescue and our spay/neuter initiative. 

For more information visit https://cprdogs.com/about/ .

This is a press release from United Methodist Homes.