Business

Pet Valu To Open on Forest Street in Early December

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Pet Valu, a provider of food, treats, toys and accessories for pets, will open in early December in the street-level commercial space of the new mixed-use building on Forest Street, officials said. The company is “eagerly anticipating our arrival in New Canaan and can’t wait to be a part of this fabulous community,” Pet Valu Regional Manager Kristin Stewart told NewCanaanite.com. “We are looking forward to becoming active in the community,” Stewart said in an email, responding to an inquiry. The Ontario, Canada-headquartered company has more than 500 locations in the United States and Canada, according to its LinkedIn page. It has 23 in Connecticut, according to its store locator, including in the Fairfield County towns of Darien, Ridgefield, Norwalk, Stamford, Trumbull and Danbury.

Around Town

‘They Had a Nice Idea’: NCHS Freshmen, Girl Scouts Lead Efforts To Get Three ‘Dog Waste Stations’ in Town

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Claire Brunner and Lily Hirai, freshmen at New Canaan High School and members of Girl Scouts Troop 50230, knew that they wanted their Silver Award project to be about animals in some way. A pair of dog-lovers—Lily has a 7-year-old yellow Labrador retriever named ‘Ranger’ and Claire wants a dog—they sought “to make the community more animal-friendly,” Claire recalled. “When I was out walking the neighbor’s dog, I saw one of these [dog waste station] units, and I thought it would be good for the environment to have one in town, where dog owners can discard of their animals’ waste, so I put it out to Lily and we both agreed that it was a good project.”

Soon, thanks to the 14-year-olds’ efforts, New Canaan will benefit from three stations set up in places where people often can be found walking leashed dogs: at South and Farm Roads, at South and Maple, and in front of the Playhouse at New Canaan’s “50-yard-line.”

Made possible by a series of fundraising efforts that the two Girl Scouts oversaw (their troop is overseen by Carolyn Prazenka and Jennifer O’Brien), the projects will mark the first time that New Canaan installs the stations outside of its parks, according to Tiger Mann, assistant director of the Department of Public Works. “I have to say, they had a nice idea,” Mann said. The town will resupply the bags at the stations, which essentially are a green box affixed to a post, he said.

Animal 411

‘Feed the Need’: Pet Pantry Believes Shelter Dogs Should Be Treated Like Pets

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[Note: This article first was published on sister site Greenwich Free Press.]

On Monday, at Pet Pantry Warehouse’s Greenwich location, Adam Jacobson, Joshua Roth and Ari Jacobson received an award from an Armonk, N.Y.-based dog rescue group for their continued support of the shelter through a program that delivers food to the adoptable canines. The supplier of dog food for the New Canaan Police Department’s K-9 unit and others, Pet Pantry has been involved with Adopt-A- Dog as a major sponsor since the Puttin’ on the Dog in 1988, but three years ago, the store, which has expanded to multiple locations over the years, furthered their support by creating “Feed the Need.”

“Feed the Need” is a food drive that makes healthy food from Blue Buffalo available to shelter dogs. And, the impact of having this grain-free food does not go unnoticed by Adopt-A- Dog Executive Director Kristen Rice. “When I first started working at Adopt-A- Dog, shelter dogs were served whatever food was available,” Rice said. “Feed the Need provides a consistent diet, and we can see that the dogs have a healthy coat.”

No dog gets left behind in this healthy diet, so Adopt-A- Dog goes through 86,000 pounds of food per year.

Animal 411

PHOTOS: Pets and Pet-Lovers Hit Dog Days New Canaan At Pet Pantry

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Hundreds of leash-wielding New Canaan and area animal lovers descended on the parking lot at Pet Pantry on Grove Street on Sunday for a dog-friendly event that’s become a hugely popular spring tradition downtown. Less than halfway through the 7th Annual New Canaan Dog Days, an estimated 500-plus dog-lovers had visited the merchant tents, signed their four-legged family members up for contests, sampled free ice cream from Baskin Robbins and enjoyed the music of New Canaan School of Rock, one of its organizers said. As it did for Caffeine & Carburetors at Waveny in the morning, the weather held out for Dog Days, said Adam Jacobson, executive vice president of Pet Pantry New Canaan. The event is expected to raise “thousands upon thousands of dollars” for Adopt-A-Dog as well as Strays & Others, Jacobson said. “We have great support from our vendor partners,” including New Canaan Veterinary Hospital, he said.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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The Summer Theatre of New Canaan kicked off its 2016 season on Friday evening with a Broadway Stars gala featuring Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara, held at the Woodway Country Club. O’Hara was joined by fellow Broadway stars David Friedman, Robin de Jesus, Janelle Robinson, Jodi Stevens and Chip Zien. Scroll through the gallery above for images from the evening, including performances. ***

We’re hearing that Democratic Registrar of Voters George Cody won backing from New Canaan Democrats at Tuesday evening’s caucus, held at Town Hall. For the first time since his election to the office in 1994, Cody this time faced a challenger for the position, from fellow New Canaanite Bernard Simpkin.