Towns Celebrate Opening of New Regional Animal Shelter

Lost, stray or unwanted animals in Manchester, South Windsor and East Hartford have a new home, thanks to the opening of the Tyler Regional Animal Care Shelter (TRACKS). 

The shelter, a converted firehouse nestled amid former tobacco fields on Sullivan Avenue in South Windsor, is named in honor of longtime South Windsor Police Chief Gary K. Tyler, who was a staunch advocate of both regionalized services and animals. Officials from the three towns that will service the new shelter held a dedication ceremony in Tyler's honor Friday, April 26, 2013. Tyler was a member of the South Windsor Police Department since 1987, he retired in 2010 due to health reasons, and lost his battle with cancer in August of 2011. 

"He was always endeavoring to have regional services," said South Windsor Police Chief Matthew Reed. "So that we could spend a fraction of the money and still get the same services." 

South Windsor Town Manager Matthew Galligan remembered Tyler as "tenacious," and said he can recall him pushing for the shelter as far back as 1996, when he was first hired as town manager. Galligan joked that part of the reason South Windsor built its off-leash dog park, the South Windsor Bark Park, in November of 2007 was to get Tyler "off his back." 

The shelter, which was the result of a $515,000 grant from the State of Connecticut, did not cost Manchester, South Windsor or East Hartford taxpayers any money to construct. The three towns will each cover their own expenses at the facility, and animal control officers from all three towns will work at the shelter each day caring for the animals that come in from their own respective communities. The shelter, which has pens for 35 dogs and additional space for cats and whatever other animals the towns may take in, will have visiting hours for the public to visit and adopt the animals, although those have not yet been determined. 

"This is a whole new level of cooperation between towns," said State Sen. Gary LeBeau, a Democrat who represents East Hartford, South Windsor, Ellington and East Windsor who also spoke at the ceremony. "It will be a model for the state of Connecticut." 

The shelter actually opened in early January of 2013, although officials said Friday that they held off on the opening ceremony until the weather improved.

"I know that Gary's up there and he gave us this beautiful weather today," said Galligan.