The fearless efforts of Tom Stone, a member of the League for Animal Protection and a volunteer at the Huntington Animal Shelter, has helped save a deal to create dog runs at the shelter on property owned by the Long Island Power Authority.
     The dog runs will serve not only the shelter dogs, which is critical to improving their adoptability, but also the broader community of pet owners in Huntington.  
     The deal, which was hammered out this summer by Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone upon the urging of H-DOG, nearly unwound on Christmas Eve when LIPA engineers decided that the required fencing would limit their access to underground lines.
     That’s when Tom swung into action, calling Newsday and News 12 to tell them about the heartbreaking situation at the shelter where dogs are kept in 4’ by 6’ cages most of the day. While Tom and other League volunteers perform a tremendous service to the dogs by walking them every day, “the dogs desperately need to run,” he told News 12.

       Besides providing the shelter dogs with a much needed opportunity for real exercise, the dog run also would be used for obedience training. All this would greatly improve the shelter dogs’ chances of getting adopted.
     A story in Newsday on January 2^nd detailing the situation and showing pictures of some of the shelter’s inhabitants helped kick start the negotiations again. Supervisor Petrone initiated a new round of calls with LIPA, and a few days later, LIPA Chairman Richard Kessel told News 12, “doggone it, the pooch playground will be built.” He added, “We all love animals.”
     Meanwhile, H-DOG in concert with Supervisor Petrone and LIPA continue to work on developing a larger run for the broader community of dog owners at the site.
     Thank you, Tom, for your incredible efforts on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves! Many of the dogs at the shelter literally owe their lives to you!