A Celebration of New Beginnings - Saving Animals. Serving Community.

This spring, the Village is teaming up with Salon 13 as they hold their grand opening and celebrate a new beginning for their salon and a new beginning for the dogs from Gentle Ben’s Giant Breed Rescue.  The new beginnings event will be held Saturday, April 14th between 1:30 and 5:30pm at Salon 13 in Allison Park.  The event will feature raffle baskets, live music, food for sale from Sonny’s Smorgasbord Food Truck, and interactions with adoptable dogs from Gentle Ben’s. Donations needed for the dogs are collars, leashes, non-skid stainless steel food and water bowls, tug ropes, Kong toys, Nylabones, Milkbones, canned dog food, and XL dog beds. 

Gentle Ben’s Giant Breed Rescue is a non-profit large breed dog rescue, and runs solely on donations and funds from the owners of the rescue.  Its main focus is to help families who find themselves in unfortunate circumstances such as losing their home, military obligations, divorce, loss of job, medical issue or death of a family member, and can no longer keep their beloved dog. Gentle Ben’s helps give these families peace of mind that their dog will be taken care of in a safe place, fostered, and will be placed in a loving new family.  The dogs that are taken by Gentle Ben’s become like part of their family and will stay in their rescue home until a perfect, permanent home is found for them.  Once they are placed in a new home, the original family is updated on the journey with pictures and updates so they can see their dog is now happy and safe in their new home.  Some dogs may even be placed as therapy dogs.

All dogs are fully vetted, vaccinated, heartworm tested, spayed/neutered, and fully socialized and microchipped before being placed for adoption.  They also take very seriously the placement of each dog, knowing that these dogs have been through enough changes, and need a forever home. 

 If you are unable to attend the event on April 14th, donations are being accepted at Salon 13 and the Village Center for Holistic Therapy beginning April 1st – April 30th.  

We are also collecting shoe donations at both Village locations beginning March 1st through April 30th for another charitable cause featuring dogs, Nittany Greyhounds who partners with Funds2Org.  Shoes of any kind or condition, even slippers and flip-flops, are accepted.  We will bag 25 pairs of shoes to be sent to developing nations where they may help start businesses of shoe repair or recycling or are donated to those in need, especially after natural disasters such a hurricanes.  Nittany Greyhounds is one of the few groups that does not just take healthy dogs, but this can be a big expense.  For every 100 bags of 25 pairs of shoes, Funds2Org will donate $1,000 to Nittany Greyhounds, who uses this money to rehabilitate any sick or injured dogs that they take in to get them ready for adoption, as well as provide a month's worth of food, a collar and least, a coat and ID, which is given to all adoptees.

We appreciate your generosity and kindness in support of places like Gentle Ben’s Giant Breed Rescue and Nittany Greyhounds who help our community and our animal friends.  And don’t forget that National Adopt a Shelter Pet day is April 30th!