Weston Dog Park Announces Unexpected Benefactor

WESTON, CT — Weston Dog Park is the beneficiary of an unexpected gift.

Weston Selectman Brian Gordon, who died on Nov. 18, left $45,000 to the WDP, according to a notification on the group's web page.

Gordon, 49, was just elected selectman in 2017, and died after "an epic struggle with cancer," according to the town's site.

The letter addressed to "WDP friends and supporters" on thegroup's page is signed by WDP's board of directors and reads in part:

This unexpected donation of $45,000 is received by WDP with great sadness, and great appreciation. We promise to honor the man in whose name it is offered, not only by working diligently to create the kind of community space he would have approved of, but also by sharing kindness and joy with everyone we encounter on the way, and inside this future park.

Weston Dog Park is a non-profit 501(C)(3) which was formed to raise money to build the park. The gift brings the group to less than $15,000 away from their goal of raising $100,000.

The notion of a community dog park was first presented in Town Hall by Weston Dog Park founder Maria Calamito-Proto in May 2016. Following more than two years of contentious debate, park contsruction on the Moore Property, a 36-acre municipally owned parcel of land located on Davis Hill Road, was approved and fundraising began.

Photo of Brian Gordon provided