Pet Resort and Aubuchon team up to help rescued Great Danes

By ADAM DRAPCHO, LACONIA DAILY SUN

CENTER HARBOR — When Cindi Ingalls heard about the 84 Great Dane dogs rescued from a suspected puppy mill in Wolfeboro in June, she immediately knew two things. She knew that it would be very costly for the ASPCA to care for the dogs, which must be held as evidence while the charges were being litigated, and she knew that she wanted to do something to help.

Ingalls, owner of Lakes Region Pet Resort, hatched a plan with Mark Tuckerman, general manager of the Aubuchon Hardware store in Moultonborough, to both collect contributions from customers and to supply their own donations. On the afternoon of July 21, Ingalls and her husband, Mike, brought a pickup truck to Aubuchon, and when they pulled out of the parking lot it was loaded with about a ton of dog food, as well as supplies such as blankets, bleach and paper towels, all destined to help the seized dogs.

Because the animals are being kept at an undisclosed location, Cindi and Mike brought the donations to the Wolfeboro Police Department so that the ASPCA could collect them.

Lakes Region Pet Resort contributed $1,000 in cash to the effort, as well as the supplies. Customers at the hardware store had been invited to contribute over recent weeks, and their gifts added up to nearly $1,200.

“It was fun to join up with someone like Mark because he had as much enthusaism as I do,” said Ingalls.

Tuckerman said that his store sells a lot of animal food and other pet-related items, so he expected his customers to respond when asked to chip in.

“There’s a lot of caring people in the area,” he said.

Aubuchon in Moultonborough will continue to accept donations to help the great Danes, Tuckerman noted.

Mike and Cindi Ingalls, of Lakes Region Pet Resort, helped by Aubuchon employee Seamus Gleeson, fill a pick-up truck with dog food to deliver to the 84 great Dane dogs which were seized from a suspected puppy mill in Wolfeboro. (Adam Drapcho/Laconia Daily Sun)