Win-Win: Buy Beer From Local Brewery, Help Rescue Animals

BRANFORD, CT — Folks at the Stony Creek Brewery are animal lovers. So when they were approached by the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter about an idea, the brewers were all ears.

Brewery owner Ed Crowley told Patch that he's happy to be able to help the shelter in its fundraising goals for a building expansion. And by coming up with a beer, even better.

"When they reached out to us they talked about the new shelter and thought it would be cool to come out with a beer to help," Crowley said.

And Stony Creek Brewery obliged with an IPA called Rescue Brew calling the endeavor "great for the town."

"We are so thankful to Stony Creek Brewery for partnering with us on Rescue Brew," Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter director Laura Burban said. "The funds raised will help us to expand our animal shelter and save more lives."

Rescue Brew features dogs and cats and even bunnies on the labels.

"We love animals, and we probably share many of the same customers," Crowley said.

As Burban told Patch last year, the shelter hopes to expand the current 2,600-square-foot facility located near the town's transfer station to nearly double that size. Burban said the shelter, which cares for up to 750 animals a year, "suffers from a lack of space, meaning sick animals have to share the same lobby space as humans."

She said then that the building is not air-conditioned and gets quite hot in summer months, which affects both staff and the animals in their care. The shelter, operating since 2003, is funded in part by the towns of Branford and North Branford, which it serves.

To date, $742,826 has been raised through just 200 donations, of the $1 million goal.

"Our current shelter will be fully renovated and lots of new space will be added. We need your help," the appeal reads. "Your gift will support renovated kennels, new cat rooms, space for sick and pregnant cats, a pet food pantry, community room, pet visiting rooms, new ventilation, outdoor play areas and trails."

"The towns of Branford and North Branford are supporting this renovation and expansion, but it will only happen with significant private support," it's noted.

To learn more about the shelter expansion project, or to become an "animal ambassador," visit the Cosgrove Saving Lives website here.