Sonsini Shelter to Benefit from Great Barrington Kennel Club Grant

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Thanks to the generosity of the Great Barrington Kennel Club (GBKC), a local member club of the American Kennel Club, the dogs residing at the Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter should soon enjoy a little more privacy and be a bit calmer as a result. Through the efforts of Gloria and Mike McClay, owners of Canine Connection in Cheshire, along with GBKC members and friends of the Sonsini Shelter, the GBKC agreed to fund the $2,000-plus cost of installing aluminum paneling on two of the shelter’s eight 55-foot outdoor runs.

While some dogs enjoy the company of their canine neighbors in the outside runs, others find the presence of a strange dog visible through the chain link fence to be stressful. With the paneling in place, dogs in paneled runs will no longer be face to face with the dog in the adjoining run, reducing the stress and making life easier for both dogs and shelter staff. Lowering stress makes the dogs calmer and easier to train, and training makes it easier to find them permanent homes.

The paneling, to be installed by All American Fencing of Lee, continues Sonsini’s improvements to the surroundings of the several hundred cats and dogs that pass through the shelter each year on their way to new homes.

The shelter is located at 63 Downing Parkway (in the Downing Industrial Park), Pittsfield. For more information call (413) 448-9800 or e-mail eleanorsonsinishelter@yahoo.com. General info and pictures of animals currently available for adoption can be obtained from its web site, www.pittsfieldanimals.org.
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Multiple Departments Respond to Lanesborough Structure Fire

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Multiple fire departments responded to a structure fire off Narragansett Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. 

The Fire Department received a call from the owner of 6 Bangor St. reporting a smoke and flames at around 1:44 p.m.

Firefighters arriving on scene reported heavy smoke emanating from the the 1940s single-family ranch home in the thickly settle neighborhood.

The blaze was brought under control in less than an hour and there were no civilian or firefighter injuries. 

"The homeowner was outside doing some work, evidently, opened the door when she came back in the house, and there were flames and smoke, so she backed out and called us, and that's all we know right now," Deputy Fire Chief Glen Storie said around 2:35 p.m. 

The fire was out at that time, and first responders observed "quite a bit of damage" to the home. The cause is still under investigation. 

Lanesborough, Cheshire, and Pittsfield departments responded to the scene, and Hancock covered the station during the call. 

"The first crew in knocked the fire right down with the first engine," Storie said. 

Smoke could be seen coming from the back of the home. Part of Narragansett Avenue and Bangor Avenue were blocked off while firefighters battled the blaze. 

 

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