Press Release

Summertime Monday Ticket Sales Will Benefit Local Animal Rescues

Posted on June 7, 2019

Mondays Are For The Dogs… And Cats!

The Essex Steam Train & Riverboat kicks off its summer season with a brand new weekly event to help benefit local animal rescue organizations. Each Monday, the railroad will donate $1 from every ticket sale on its daytime Train and Train & Boat excursions to a local 501(c)3 nonprofit that works in animal care and adoption.

Each organization has been assigned two Mondays throughout the summer to receive donations. Information about the rescues will be available at the station for passengers who are interested in adopting an animal.

Tickets can be purchased at this link.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to our food license, NO animals will be allowed at the station, on the train, or on the boat on these days (with the exception of qualified service animals.)

Schedule

June 17th & July 22nd – Homeward Bound, Chester, CT
June 24th & July 29th – Valley Shore Animal Welfare League, Westbrook, CT
July 1st & August 5th – Connecticut Humane Society, Newington, CT
July 8th & August 12th – Double Dog Rescue, Unionville, CT
July 15th & August 19th – Forgotten Felines, Westbrook, CT

About the Rescue Organizations

Homeward Bound is committed to finding homes for the thousands of dogs dying in kill shelters across the country every year. They do this by creating adoption events for rescues and shelters to bring their dogs, securing locations, supplying volunteers, and promoting the events and the dogs.

Valley Shore Animal Welfare League was founded in 1972 by a group of women who saw an increasing need for animal-oriented programs along the shoreline of Connecticut. The League now owns and operates a no-kill shelter that serves as an adoption facility for dogs and cats.

The Connecticut Humane Society is the oldest and most comprehensive animal welfare organization in the state and helps thousands of pets every year. They envision a Connecticut where each companion animal finds a permanent, compassionate home, where communities are enriched by the special bond between people and animals, and where animal cruelty no longer exists.

Double Dog Rescue was founded in 2006 by sisters Chey Ottoson and Laurie Ottoson Perotti in an effort to help the overpopulation of dogs in the South. The group started with eight volunteers and now has a team of over 100. They do not operate as a physical shelter, but instead act as the middlemen to facilitate getting dogs from shelters and into a loving home.

Forgotten Felines is a private, all-volunteer organization in Westbrook, CT, serving ten towns along the Connecticut River and shoreline. They rescue homeless cats and kittens, care for them in their no-kill shelter, and work to find them loving, adoptive homes.

About the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat

Owned and operated by the Valley Railroad Company, the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat is a unique historic attraction in the Connecticut River Valley. The railroad has transported people in Connecticut since 1868, and the Valley Railroad Company has operated today’s well-known train and riverboat for over 40 years.

The Essex Steam Train & Riverboat offers excursions through the unspoiled Connecticut River Valley, a place designated as “one of the last great places on earth” by the Nature Conservancy. The steam locomotive pulls vintage coaches through the quintessential New England towns of Deep River and Chester, and the Becky Thatcher riverboat takes visitors past the undeveloped Selden Neck State Park on its way to East Haddam. Various eco-excursions, family outings, and themed events are offered throughout the year.

For more information, visit www.essexsteamtrain.com

Follow the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat on Facebook at www.facebook.com/essexsteamtrain