Norwalk River Valley Trail Receives $5000 from Canine Company

The Norwalk River Valley Trail is $5000 closer to funding the planned WilWalk section of the trail, thanks to a donation from Canine Company, the at-home pet services provider. The gift was made as part of the company’s 35th anniversary celebration.

“We wanted to mark this important anniversary with a gift for our hometown, which has been good to us for so many years,” said Canine Company President Jennifer Hill. “The NRVT is a great resource for Wilton families, and it’s wonderful that our dogs are welcome to walk the trails with us. We think this donation is a great way to help our neighbors keep their pets happy and healthy.”

According to a recent trail census, NRVT’s Wilton Loop averages more than 1,300 visits each week, and 19 percent of the visits are for dog walks.

Pat Sesto, President of the Friends of the NRVT said, “Some of the NRVT’s biggest fans are people who walk their dogs on the Trail. We’re delighted to have the support of a highly regarded company so well known to the dog-lover’s community. We’re appreciative of the Canine Company’s generous help in constructing more trail, as well as being a Title Sponsor for the Mutt Strut on May 5th.”

The Norwalk River Valley Trail [NRVT] project aims to build 33 miles of trail connecting Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk, Connecticut to Rogers Park in Danbury, passing through Wilton, Ridgefield, and Redding along the way. The WilWalk section is a planned a two-mile trail that will connect the Wilton and Norwalk portions of NRVT. Part of the trail will be funded by a $1.3-million grant from the state if the Friends of the NRVT raise a 20 percent match. With the gift from Canine Company, the trail has raised $135,000.

Canine Company, which has been based in Wilton since 1988, was born of a family’s love for dogs. After losing one of their dogs to a car, Carol and Henry Hill launched a company to help other pet-loving families keep their pets in their own yards. Today, under the leadership of their daughter Jennifer Hill, the company’s mission is to keep pets happy, safe and healthy, with the Invisible Fence brand pet containment system, dog obedience training, mobiledog grooming and pet sitting. For more information, visit www.caninecompany.com.

For more about the trail, visit www.nrvt-trail.com. Donations can be made through the website, by mail at P.O. Box 174, Georgetown, CT 06829 or by contacting Executive Director at ctaney@nrvt-trail.com.

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In photo: Pat Sesto, President of the Friends of NRVT (left), accepts the donation from Canine Company President & CEO Jennifer Hill, while Belle patiently waits to walk the trail.