On Monday at 10 AM, elected officials, Town employees, and members of the community braved the cold and rain to honor Harlan & Olivia Fischer. The long time animal advocates and rescuers made a $7600 donation to the Smithtown Animal & Adoption Center last year to help pay for the fencing around the dog runs. The Ceremony ended with the unveiling of the new sign at the main dog run and agility area, renamed in honor of The Harlan Fischer Family.
“I would like to personally thank the Fischers and their whole family. To make a contribution like this for our animals… you can see how much they love it… We have all the gratitude in the world for your generosity. I’m honored to be here with you today.” – Supervisor Ed Wehrheim
“I thank Mr. Harlan & Olivia Fischer, who donated the fence to secure the Town of Smithtown Animal Shelter Dog Park… There is one person to thank for this major change, and that is John Valentine, who guided us all toward a new philosophy, and for that, I am eternally grateful. Our Parks Department and Joe Arico have done an absolutely amazing job designing, creating and building a dog park that will bring years of joy to our shelter dogs!” – Councilwoman Lisa Inzerillo, Liaison to the Animal Shelter
About the renovations:
The Parks Department crew, under Joe Arico’s leadership, helped to build the dog runs, removed all of the dead trees, brush and debris, installed the fence, added an inground sprinkler system, repaired the pen areas and the gates. The Highway Department, under the direction of Robert Murphy, graded and paved the parking area, creating over 20 stalls, saving the town $25,000.
“When a group of very caring people came to the town board, they told us about the problems going on, and we listened. Fast forward to today, we are so thankful for the team effort… the shelter staff, the parks team, and our incredible volunteers who helped to make this shelter what it is today. I’ve known Harlan and Olivia forever and they have been the most caring, loving animal advocates. Thank you both for your generous donation.” – Councilwoman Lynne Nowick
“We’ve rescued 10 dogs through the years… The dogs have just enhanced our lives for the 45 years we’ve been together. We love the animals, we think this shelter is great. We learned about the need for the fencing, and it wasn’t an unreasonable number. To see the results of the finished product, we just couldn’t be happier. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication.” – Harlan Fischer
After the Dog Run Ceremony, Chief John Valentine conducted a walk-thru of the shelter, where many of the elected officials and animal advocates stayed and played with the rescue animals. Chief Valentine narrated the tour, beginning with the Veterinary Medical Intake room, into the indoor/Outdoor dog kennels, Meet and Greet rooms, Cat Condo and Cat Room areas, and the all new Kitten Playroom. Warm refreshments and continental breakfast were served in the Administration Area of the shelter after the tour.