Page , April 3, 2015 , BlueStone Press

Briefs
UlsterCorps' Annual
U-Team gathering
honors volunteers
andseeks recruits
Each year, UlsterCorps honors the
dedicated volunteers who are part of this
regional non-profit's first responders - the
U-Team.
This year's event, held on March 21st
at Marbletown Multi-Arts (MaMA) in
Stone Ridge brought togetherUlsterCorps
and U-Team founding members, current members, and potential members
as UlsterCorps celebrated the U-Teams
accomplishments over its first three
years.During this time, the U-Team has
grown to 50 members and participated in
over 100 events assisting local non-profits
to address short-term volunteer needs.
The UlsterCorps U-Team is a group of
trained, qualified volunteers prepared to
respond quickly to a variety of community
needs in Ulster County. They are a true
team and they're looking to grow.The
U-Team is everywhere: they have helped
out atcommunity events and festivals,
worked at local farms gleaning crops, then
assisted with food processing to help feed
the county's hungry. They've been on the
county's trails, working to ensure access
and maintain safe conditions and they've
helped with storm relief and picked up
donations for county residents in need.UTeam members receive notifications of
diverse short-term volunteer projects and
events tailored to a member's skills and
experience.
For more about UlsterCorps and the UTeam or to get involved, contact Susan at
u-team@ulstercorps.org. Or visit http://
www.ulstercorps.org/about/the-upteam/.

Dogs offer love asking nothing

Jillian Nadiak
BSP Reporter
At a senior citizen meeting in the
Marbletown Community Center on Saturday, March 20,Cocker Spaniels and collies
could be found being cuddled in the arms
and walking around the feet of those who
were in attendance.
Special guests Nicholas Brown Jr.,
owner of Harmony Tokalon Kennels of
Stone Ridge and Debby Covi of Woodstockspoke at the meeting about the wonderful benefits of therapy dogs and the joy
that a Cocker Spaniel or collie can bring
to peopleas tiny cocker spaniel pups were
carefully handed to anyone who wanted
to hold them. Wrapped in small towels,
the pups stayed warm as gentle hands
caressed their tiny heads.
From temporary decreases in blood
pressure to encouraging movement in
people who otherwise wouldnt,therapydogs have a wide variety of useful traits.
The instant gratification of being able to
see a cute therapy dog and having the benefit of petting oneif they want toor getting
licked on the hand is very comforting,
said Covi who works with her Collie Blaze
as a therapy dog at Cerebral Palsy of Ulster
County."A lot of seniors are reminded of
dogs they have had in the past. It helps
them reminisce and even talk about their
past experiences. This is something that
they dont get every day. Its out of the
ordinary for them and you can see their
eyes light up."

Nicholas Brown Jr. holds his personal

pet full-grown cocker spaniel during the
Marbletown Seniors meeting on April 20.
Photo by Jillian Nadiak.

Covi spoke about how people in comas

have even benefited from having a dog by
their side. The feeling of warmth and the
tactual sensation leads to the fluttering
of eyes or even hand movement that they
havent had before.
Covi purchased her first collie from
Brown in 1988. Through this relationshipand the knowledge that his Collie
became a therapy dog,Brown decided to

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ask Covi to speak with him at the senior

citizens meeting. Blaze is also one of
Browns Collies. Blazes son was also in attendance at the senior citizen meeting.
Covi encourages anyone who is interested and has a dog with a good temperament to seek certification as a therapy dog.
Its a win-win-win situation. My dog loves
it, I love it and the people love it."
Having just turned 80 in December, this
year marks thesixty-fifthanniversary for
Brown in the world of breeding Cocker
Spaniels and Collies. At the age of 12,
Brown began working forrenownedMrs.
Elizabeth Browning of Takalon Kennelsin
West Hurleywhere he groomed and
trained her puppies into show dogs.
Brown has maintained the Tokalon
name just as Mrs. Browning hadwanted.
If the Tokalons are goingto be remembered, she had saidto him, You are
going to have to do it.
Brown had his first litter of puppies in
1950 and has been breeding ever since.
Browns Collies are sorenownedthat he
recently had a call from Germany asking
for a tokalonCollie puppy. If Brown had
any puppies available the persons would
have picked up the puppy while visiting
family in New Jersey, however Brown
didnt have any at the time.
When his talk was finished, Brown was
greeted by many who complimented and
thanked him for his time. Its fun to do
this, he said."I benefit a great deal because it gives me a little outlet to gives the
doggies an opportunity to socialize."