East Haven Animal Shelter Volunteer Lesley Simoni Named CT Animal Control Volunteer of Year 2014

Recently, the State of Connecticut Department of Agriculture -Animal Control Division recognized Lesley E. Simoni, as their Donald E. Nay Memorial Animal Control Volunteer of the Year for 2014. Ms. Simoni, who has volunteered for over 18 years at the East Haven Animal Shelter, was given the award at the Division’s annual conference held at Foxwoods Resort.

In recognition of Lesley’s achievement and in gratitude for all the hard work and dedication, she was presented with a Mayoral Proclamation (see attached) by East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr. “While I have always felt and expressed frequently that our citizens are blessed to have one of the best Animal Control Departments, with ACO Owen Little and AACO Anthony Purificato, I am particularly pleased that the State has now acknowledged that we are equally blessed to have one of the best volunteers in the State. Our Animal Control Department not only runs very efficiently and professionally but with a dedication and compassion that benefits not only our residents but everyone of the animals in need of a home that come through our doors. I cannot thank Ms. Simoni for the extraordinary amount of volunteerism she has given to the shelter and certainly hope that she will continue to grace us with her assistance for many years to come”, Maturo.

Several letters of recommendation to the Agriculture department pointed out that Lesley donates twenty hours or more a week to the East Haven Shelter, despite her 80 miles per day commute to ESPN, where she is an accountant. In addition to attending to the animals during those hours, Lesley was instrumental in having East Haven’s shelter being one of the first to be placed on Petfinder.com and currently plays a key role in their presence in the social media. Through Lesley’s diligence in keeping the shelter’s Facebook page current, she has helped increase their level of successful adoptions.

During Superstorm Sandy, once it was determined the animals needed to be evacuated, Lesley with her husband’s assistance worked tirelessly to transport animals to other shelters and insure they were safe and out of harm’s way. Ms. Simoni will also assist the shelter in finding potential adopters, checking their references and meeting with many of them to find the right fit for the animal and the potential new owner. Finally she has also been involved with many Animal Shelter fundraisers to obtain funds to provide additional medical care for the animals then normally required of such a facility.