Canine Concert Bow Wows Audience at Heritage Hills

SOMERS, N.Y. - Saturday evening’s "canine concert" at Heritage Hills was not, as you might have thought, a pack of discontented dogs voicing their complaints. It was, rather, a “Swingin’ Soiree,” starring remarkable jazz performer and musicologist, Patricia Adams, supported by the Michael Friedman Quartet.

Entertainer Patricia Adams, herself a Heritage Hills resident, presented an exciting program of Tin Pan Alley standards. Among them were Alone Together, Just in Time, If You Could See Me Now, Beware My Foolish Heart, and Hoagy Carmichael’s The Nearness of You.

The show was sponsored by Canine Companions of Heritage Hills, one of the moving forces behind the Somers Dog Park, soon to be realized on Route 100.

In 2010, the organization presented a 550-signature petition to the Somers Town Board, which ultimately led to the designation of a tract of land to be developed as a dog park. The Saturday evening fundraiser was aimed toward the purchase of fencing, benches and water facilities for the park.

During intermission, audience member Yelena Hill said, “This is music I can sing to. I know most of the words and I can’t sit still. You can’t really hear the words to songs these days. But when I here these songs, it’s a walk down memory lane. To a time when life had so many possibilities.”

Joan Kazin agreed. “I know all the songs. I’ve been singing along.” Ms. Kazin’s canine companion, Becky, is a nine-year-old golden retriever who works twice a month at the Salem Nursing Home as a therapy dog. Becky has a boyfriend. “He’s a chocolate lab named Rocco. He catches the ball and drops it in front of her.” She added, “I want the park before my dog dies.”

The 60 members of Canine Companions, in addition to their work on behalf of the dog park, support each other. “If someone’s dog needs a walk, or if they need help getting to the vet, we’re there,” said president Faye DeSanto.

The organization will have a table at the St. Luke’s Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 22. “Kizzy, the therapy dog will be there,” DeSanto said. “Kizzy lives in Heritage Hills and there have been books written about him. He’s going to autograph books with his paw.”

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