NORTH SALEM, N.Y. - Who’s a good dog?
The age-old question finally has an answer: All of them!
Cuddly canines and their human champions woofed it up on a beautiful fall morning in North Salem recently at D.I.G. Farm’s very first “Dick Button Animal Rescue Adoption-Palooza Day.”
Held on Oct. 3 at the late Olympic figure skater and renowned sports analyst’s bucolic Ice Pond Farm, the event raised money for organizations such as ROAR (Ridgefield Operation for Animal Rescue), a no-kill shelter offering pet adoptions and a free food pantry for cats and dogs, and the SPCA of Westchester, a Briarcliff Manor-based shelter and clinic.
Besides meet-and-greets with adoptable pups, there were vendors of pet products, trainers, groomers, a raffle, and fresh veggies and herbs for sale. Folks also signed up to be foster pet parents.
(D.I.G. stands for Dealing In Good.)
Happily hosting was Button’s spouse and longtime partner, Dennis Grimaldi-Button, a theater and television producer.
Accompanying him was Gus, Button’s beloved protector.
Over the years the couple had quite the menagerie at their 1840s farmhouse and gardens on June Road. Family members included Airedale terriers, Labrador retrievers, Labradoodles, cows, chickens, and pigs.
Julian Klein of Ridgefield, Conn., a volunteer with ROAR, and Sophie Fleming, were cuddling Calamity and Butch, two-month-old littermates who were rescued from Mississippi.
“They’re very sweet,” Klein said. “We don’t know their back story, but that doesn’t matter because their stories are yet to be written.”
Matt Lustig, also of ROAR, was pleased with the turnout.
“We’ve had a lot of people come and look at the dogs. The kids start and then the moms and dads come after, but we’ve had a bunch of interest and we think people will apply online to adopt them,” he said.
ROAR’s process is to “kind of vet the dog and the people to make sure it’s a good match, in other words, that the family is good for the dog and the dog is good for the family,” Lustig explained, adding that the organization doesn’t “want one to be adopted and then have to come back for some reason.”
An older person, say, might not want to get a dog “with a lot of energy who’s going to tear up the house, but we have senior dogs who are calm and gentle,” he said.
Mary Massoud of Brewster was there to get some information before committing to be a pet parent.
“I’m single now and I’m considering either adopting or fostering but I’m trying to speak to people who are in the field to find out what the best options are, what kind of a dog would be good, because I don’t want to be thinking I could do something and then the poor animal gets …” she said.
“I want to know what resources are available. I just want as much information as I can get before I make a final decision,” Massoud explained.
“Is this a good place to get that kind of information?” this reporter asked.
“Oh, the people have been wonderful. Yes, it is. These organizations do a lot of work. There’s the ones for dogs and one for cats. They can either tell you what you want to know, or who to contact,” Massoud said.
One of those helpful folks is Lisa McCarthy.
McCarthy, having moved to the area in May, was looking for a place to volunteer when she came across SPCA-Westchester.
“I was just so impressed. I could have gone to just anyplace, but I chose them because they really are organized and care about their volunteers and properly training them,” she said.
“We really got a lot of information about how to handle the dogs and cats, about diseases, prevention and everything. So, they really care and they’re just such lovely people,” McCarthy said.
And speaking of lovely people.
Grimaldi-Button declared that his late partner would have been sent over the moon by the day’s matchmaking successes.
“One of the most important things for Dick besides his gardens were animals. He loved all animals, big and small. Both of us were big animal rescue people. He would only adopt dogs who were rescue dogs. So, we’ve had a lot of dogs on our farm through the years,” he told Halston Media.
One of the last, and best, was Gus, who was named after Gustave "Gus" Lussi, the legendary Swiss-born figure skating coach who trained Button throughout his entire competitive career.
(The Buttons also adopted Gus’s sister, Lussi.)
“Gus was named after Dick’s coach, Gustave Lussi. And it’s befitting that this dog would be Dick’s protector,” said Grimaldi-Button.
“When I brought him home, he looked around the room, saw Dick sitting at the table, went right over to him, laid down, and that was it,” he recalled, adding with a chuckle, “In order to get to Dick, you had to first register with Gus.”
Displayed on a poster-sized board behind Grimaldi-Button were photos of the two-time Olympic champion.
“But we’re doing this event in Dick’s honor. I’m so pleased that we have a bright, sunny day. I’m sure that Dick is looking down being very happy to see all these dogs roaming around,” he said.
GOOD TO KNOW
To register to be a foster pet parent or for more information about D.I.G., visit www.digfarm.org.
For more information about ROAR, visit www.roar-ridgefield.org, and for SPCA-Westchester, www.spcawestchester.org.
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