BY PJ KENNEDY  AUGUST 29, 2023
Lucky Dog Refuge and Mill River Park will host their second annual “Luckypawlooza” fundraising festival, presented by Magna Construction on Oct. 14 in Stamford.
Proceeds from the event will benefit Lucky Dog Refuge and improvements to Mill River Park’s dog park.

Lucky Dog Refuge CT (36 Pulaski Street) is a Stamford-based rescue that has saved and adopted out over 800 dogs in the past 3 years. Most of these dogs were medical, neglect, and euthanasia cases; dogs who were once failed by humanity but are now living the dream in their forever homes. 
“Luckypawlooza” runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mill River Park (1050 Washington Boulevard) and will include a fun-filled festival for people of all ages. There will be adoptable animals, live music, food trucks, beer garden, comedians, a kids zone, charities, local businesses, artisans, a lure course and competitions for dogs, and more. 

Lucky Dog is also hosting a raffle to raise funds for more medical cases. For every $100 ticket, donors have a chance to win up to $20k (second prize $10k and third prize $5k) Supporters could win the prize and save dogs all at the same time. The drawing will be live at 4pm at Luckypawlooza on October 14. (Winners do not necessarily need to attend to be eligible) 
For more information, tickets, and volunteer opportunities visit, www.luckydogrefuge.com.

DARIEN — The Darien Pride Committee sponsored its second LGBTQ+ Pride Month celebration in Tilley Pond Park on Sunday.

Darien residents spent the afternoon enjoying food trucks, arts and crafts, puppy adoption and a drag performance by Darien High School graduate Boxa Crayonz.

First Selectman Monica McNally delivered a proclamation officially declaring June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month in Darien.
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Written By
Mollie Hersh

By Rosemary Black

​The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Monday and what better way to celebrate than with some Stanley pups?

More than a dozen puppies who are up for adoption were on hand at the NHL offices in New York on Wednesday and some even got screen time on "NHL Mash-Up," one of the League's newest shows.

"Very early on when we first started the show, we were told we are going to have an episode with puppies," said Kathryn Tappen, who hosts "NHL Mash-Up" with former NHL player Dominic Moore. "We've been teasing it all season. It will certainly bring light to the shelters in the area and really throughout the country. I mean, these dogs today were from Mississippi, they're at Lucky Dog Refuge in Connecticut. They're local pups and they're available for adoption. And I think that's huge, especially this time of year in spring and summer when people want to get outside, what better way than with a new puppy?"

"NHL Mash-Up," is a bi-weekly magazine show created by NHL Original Productions which airs on the League's YouTube Channel. Hosted by Tappen and Moore, the series showcases the week's best content across the League, including player features, mic'd up moments, uplifting stories and more.

"Dogs and adorable animals are very popular on social media," Moore said. "And I think it's a good mix. Our show is all about social content and personality and dogs also have a way of bringing out the personality of the players and there's been other stuff done throughout the season as team's have been doing with dogs and other animals and it's really fun so we just thought we'd enjoy playing it up today with our dogs joining us in the studio."

So how did the idea come about? Kirstin Mende, who founded Lucky Dog Refuge with her mother in 2020, had some NHL connections and put two of her passions together.

"I worked in communications at the National Hockey League from 2010 to late 2013," Mende said. "I've stayed in touch with the National Hockey League family. A lot of my friends still work here. When I was working at the NHL, you know back in between 2010 and 2013, I kept saying we should have a dog do puck drop. How great would it be if we had a dog do the puck drop. And 10 years later, here we are with our dogs and the NHL is just doing such wonderful things embracing dogs and the need for rescue and finding them forever homes. And I'm just so happy that my two worlds have collided."

Looking for a steadfast companion who provides unconditional love and loyalty, isn’t judgmental, 

and knows how to snuggle? Perhaps you could use a friend to exercise with and accompany you on long walks. Who can you turn to for this perfect friendship? Many people would tell you to adopt a pet.

Those of us who may be feeling isolated or alone can experience wonderful companionship from a pet, says Lisa Bonanno-Spence, director of development at the SPCA in Briarcliff Manor. “A pet gives you a reason to be a little more active,” she says, and can help get you out and about, and socializing.

Westchester County is a great place to live when it comes to owning a pet. “There are so many resources in Westchester for pet owners,” Bonanno-Spence notes. “There are canine boarding facilities, pet sitters, and even vets will occasionally board your pet when you travel.”

Pets offer abounding love and they don’t hold grudges! “They say you live longer when you have a pet,” offers Paula Krenkel of PetRescue in Harrison, where cats and dogs are available for adoption.

Kirstin Mende and her mother Maria Mende (pictured here with her puppy) are the co-founders of Lucky Dog Refuge in Stamford, Connecticut. She believes there aren’t any negatives when it comes to adopting a rescue. “For a senior, an animal can be the center of your world and the reason you get up every day,” she says. “Some rescue organizations will not adopt out to anyone over 60 or 65. We know that age is just a number and we know how comforting a rescue can be.”
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Whether you're a football fan or not, we can all agree on one thing: puppies are adorable. And there's no place to see more of them than the most paws-itive game on the gridiron: the Puppy Bowl. Now in its 19th year, Team Ruff faces Team Fluff in what's not just a cute contest but a promotion for pet adoption. The tail-wagging good time features rescues from across the country, including western Connecticut. Five dogs from three local rescues are on the roster, one of which is a rookie--Lucky Dog Refuge in Stamford.
"The Puppy Bowl has been so exciting for us. We are just so thrilled. We didn't even imagine as a new rescue that this was something that would be possible for us," said Lucky Dog Refuge CEO and co-founder Kirstin Mende.
Mende started the rescue in 2020 with a focus on medical cases and dogs that are hard to place. They recently passed 700 adoptions.
Among them, Team Fluff star Twinkle--a Huskie, cattle dog, Alaskan malamute, German Shepherd mix. Originally from Mississippi, she's since been adopted by Mende's mom, who co-founded the rescue. Twinkle now lives in Darien with a pack of siblings, which the competition surely helped prepare her for.
"Twinkle was very excited. It was a huge, huge adventure for her," Mende recalled. "She had a tendency to fall asleep during film time because it was a nice warm room, but she would wake up to get on the field and get playing and even in the holding room outside, she just loved meeting all the other dogs."
Also suiting up for Team Fluff is Stardust, a poodle-Australian shepherd mix with one eye from DAWS in Bethel. Stardust is one of eleven special-needs puppy players in the game this year.
"She was very outgoing while she was at the Puppy Bowl," explained DAWS Shelter Director Katie Mothersele.
DAWS also fields a player for Team Ruff. Dakota is a German shepherd-pit bull mix born in West Virginia who now calls Bethel home.
"She was very shy when she went to the Puppy Bowl, but she had a wonderful time and started to come out of her shell," Mothersele told News 12. "It's a fun experience for us, and we think that it's great to advocate for the animals that are in the shelter environment and remind people, you know, adopt, don't shop."
This was DAWS' fifth year in the canine competition, but it's not the only local veteran in the lineup.
ROAR in Ridgefield is also back with two players. Pauly is a playful black-and-tan hound mix from Georgia on Team Ruff. His Team Fluff competitor is Schnitzel, a husky-boxer mix. He's smart, sweet, happy, and high energy, so it's no surprise he had a ball on the field. He's also still at ROAR, the only local Puppy Bowl dog without a forever home.
Who will win the coveted "Vince Lombarky" trophy? Puppy Bowl XIX airs on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and TBS from 2-5 p.m. with a one-hour pre-game show beforehand. You can also stream it on HBO Max or Discovery+.
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Kirsten Mende, CEO and co-founder of Stamford’s Lucky Dog Refuge, is no stranger to adopting animals. Having rescued a number of dogs herself, Kristen and her mother, Maria Mende, who is the co-founder and president of the organization, have a soft spot for animals. Maria is personally a fan of Husky mixes, and when the opportunity came to adopt Twinkle, a Husky-Australian Cattle Dog-German Shepherd-Alaskan Malamute mix, the family couldn’t pass it up.

Twinkle is a rescue dog that came from a run-down shelter in Mississippi. Twinkle’s older sister was rescued first and required immediate medical attention. Then, fosters went back to rescue the mother, who surprised them by giving birth to a litter of puppies.

According to Mende, all of the puppies contracted Parvo, a contagious virus that claimed the lives of two of them. Twinkle and her sister, Lunette, survived and were taken up to Connecticut once they healed.