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04/28/2022 12:01 AMThe Valley Shore Animal Welfare League (VSAWL) is looking to reintroduce itself to the community and hopefully find some good boys and girls a new home at a community dog walks and adoption event on Sunday, May 15 at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison.
The event, officially dubbed Woofstock, will take place rain or shine from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Shoreline Greenway Trail parking lot off of Route One just west of the Hammonasset main entrance. The day will feature a chance to meet dogs that are up for adoption, pet groomers, a community dog walk where people can bring and walk their own dogs, music, games, and food trucks.
“It’s chance for us to reintroduce ourselves as a community partner and we wanted to do a big community event,” says Kassandra Hernandez, the head of VSAWL’s Fundraising and Event Committee. Hernandez says she did not know how many dogs would be up for adoption at the event as the number depends on how many adoption eligible animals the facility has at that time.
“We really hope people come out and interact with us and meet our adoptions new board of directors, bring their own dogs, and have a great time,” Hernandez says.
VSAWL has been around for 50 years, but Hernandez says that it was time for the league to take on more visible role in the community.
“We’ve been around since the ‘70s but our community outreach over the years has been a little lackluster. We underwent some leadership changes recently and thought it would be a good idea to reintroduce ourselves to the community. We’re really looking to reinvigorate ourselves and be a part of the community,” Hernandez explained.
As part of those efforts to get reacquainted with the shoreline community, Hernandez says there are plans in the work to do more community events beyond Woofstock.
“We’re super excited. It’s our 50th anniversary, so we want to do an event in the summer and we are also planning for a Halloween event as well,” says Hernandez. “We really want this day to be a great community gathering. We’re really excited for it and want to remind people we’re a part of the community.”
For those interested in possibly adopting an animal before the dog walk, VSAWL has a physical location at 647 Horse Hill Road in Westbrook. Hernandez says that the shelter houses both dogs and cats and that the number of animals up for adoption fluctuates.
“We usually on average have 6 to 10 dogs available and 6 to 12 cats available. It’s a fairly small shelter but it’s very cute,” says Hernandez.
The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; appointments are required. For more information, visit www.valleyshoreanimalwelfareleague.org or www.facebook.com/ValleyShoreAnimalWelfareLeague, email valleyshoreawl@gmail.com, or call 860-399-7561.