Name: Open House at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network
Start: 2021-02-05T10:00:00-05:00
End: 2021-02-05T11:00:00-05:00
Location: Elm Bank Reservation

Winter Furry and Fuzzy Critters in Wellesley Backyards: Online program Jan. 13

January 8, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Wellesley Conservation Land Trust and Wellesley Free Library present an online program called “Winter Furry and Fuzzy Critters in Wellesley Backyards” on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 4pm. Learn about what animals might be living in our visiting your yard, and how you can ID them via their tracks in the mud or snow.

snow buck october — Photo courtesy of Jean Bae

Register in advance for this educational event. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the 30-minute meeting. Designed for children of all ages.

Joy Marzolf, former naturalist and educator for over 13 years at Mass Audubon’s Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary and now with her own company, The Joys of Nature, will provide the answers to your questions.

For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/events/3548063445308312

Who has the cutest pet in Wellesley?

January 7, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Wellesley pets Who has the cutest pet in Wellesley?

The Rotary Club of Wellesley is holding a virtual pet photo & video contest! All you need to enter the club’s contest, is fill out an entry form and submit a $25 entry fee on the website WellesleysGotPets.com. The window for submissions closes on January 8^th and voting will be opened to the public from January 10^th to January 24^thto decide the winner in each category! The BEST IN SHOW winner will be decided on by three judges: Honorary Chair Sue Webb of Wellesley Animal Control, Dr. Anthony Cosimini of The Cat Hospital, and Dr. Liz Hartman of The Wellesley Animal Hospital.

Proceeds from Wellesley’s Got Pets will got to benefit The MassBay Meal Scholarships provides eligible students with the funds to access food they might not have otherwise be able to afford. Typically, the school provides the meals to students on campus but as students are now having to study remotely due to COVID-19, MassBay has partnered with Imperfect Foods to deliver groceries directly to students’ homes. Imperfect Foods has expanded its service area in a commitment to ensure all eligible students are able to access food deliveries. Recipients of the MassBay Meals Scholarship receive funds through their Imperfect Foods account to choose the produce, meat, and pantry supplies that work best for them. The students will receive weekly $50 credit to their account, for a total of $600, covering the 12 week semester.

Many MassBay students have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, either by job loss or reduction in hourly-wage positions, remote education responsibilities with their own children, or learning new online technology to complete their studies. The MassBay Meal Scholarship Program can help ease student’s financial burdens, while providing access to nutritious food to help students focus on their studies and reach their academic goals.

WellelseysGotPets.com

Wellesley Animal Control Officer Sue Webb to retire after 45 years on the job

January 3, 2021 by Deborah Brown 15 Comments

Wellesley Animal Officer Sue Web is set to retire this month after 45 years on the job keeping the town safe for residents by making sure that animals are kept under control, licensed, and vaccinated, among other duties.

World of Wellesley event — Animal Control Officer Sue Webb, pictured with Officer Lamars Hughes, 2018.

In an email, Officer Webb says starting Stray Pets in Need (SPIN) is one of the projects she’s most proud of. The program, she says, makes sure “all unclaimed pets had a place to go for treatment and adoption so animals picked up by Animal Control are never euthanized due to lack of space or funding for medical treatment.”

She also cited promoting microchip clinics to implant tiny transponders in pets’ skin to aid in finding lost animals. Because of the program, she says the town has a very high rate of return to owners of both dogs and cats.

Officer Webb has also over the years stepped up coordination with volunteers and veterinarians to trap, spay/neuter, vaccinate and return feral cats to their feeders or colonies. The program experienced its intended gradual success, getting Wellesley to the point where the town no longer has colonies of feral cats.

One part of the job Officer Webb really enjoyed was the opportunity to tell young people about what she does. “When it was possible to go into the schools, I really enjoyed educating the kids and had developed different topic for each grade level so they learned something new each year I came to talk.”

As for the future, Officer Webb will continue her volunteer work with SPIN to coordinate volunteers to help with transportation of senior’s pets to veterinary appointments. She also coordinates foster for pets from domestic violence programs through Safe People Safe Pets.

“There are so many other issues I want to devote more time promote through legislation and networking with others,” Officer Webb says, as well as taking “some time to travel in my camper and visit friends and interesting sites around the country.”

As of her retirement date, Tuesday, January 5, 2021, that time will be hers.

We wish Sue well.

Think you can fill Officer Webb’s shoes? Here’s what it takes:

The Town of Wellesley is currently seeking an Animal Control Officer. The incumbent in this role will be responsible for enforcing Wellesley’s Animal Control By-law including Chapter 140, Section 136-175 of the General Laws of the State.

Under the general supervision of the Police Chief, this position provides a safe environment for its citizens and protects them against disease and uncontrollable dogs or other animals and determines if dogs or pets are a nuisance, miscreant of duly licensed within the meaning of the Animal Control By-law. The incumbent investigates and reports all animal bites to the Board of Health and is responsible for proper quarantine of the animals reported to have bitten a person for the mandatory 10 day isolation period and reporting to the condition of the animal at the end of the 10 day isolation period. Additionally, this position takes animal specimens to the State Diagnostic Laboratory in Jamaica Plain for evaluation that have been involved in biting situations of humans, assists at annual dog rabies clinics and makes annual inspections of all premises in Wellesley that keep domestic livestock. Additional duties include patrolling school playgrounds and other recreational areas in a specially equipped van to seek out and capture uncontrolled, stray, unlicensed and other dogs in violation of the By-law and transporting to kennel for impoundment or place in custody of a veterinarian for hospitalization, investigating complaints and taking appropriate action as warranted, including snaring animals with rope, net or other approved devices and place animal in caged vehicle or will issue citation notice or restraining order to owner in accordance with the Animal Control By-law and will follow up to assure owner is in compliance.

More here.

Wellesley, Dover first responders rescue dog from icy Charles River

December 22, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley and Dover police and firefighters joined forces on Tuesday afternoon to save a dog named Popeye that broke through the ice on the Charles River while on a walk at Elm Bank Reservation.

“Popeye was unable to crawl out of the river due to the build-up of ice along the river bank,” according to a Tweet by Wellesley Police.

Wellesley firefighters pulled the dog from the water and warmed him up, before Popeye was transported to an animal hospital. The dog is expected to be fine.

While dogs are supposed to be leashed at Elm Bank Reservation, they rarely are. Wellesley Animal Control Officer Sue Webb says the dog owner did the right thing in calling for help and not going into the water. She says: “If they are loose, dogs should be under control near such a dangerous river especially in the winter. It puts others at risk trying to save the dog and we don’t want people going under.”

Team effort saves dog from frigid Charles River earlier this afternoon. Wellesley Fire Fighters conducted a successful ice water rescue with help from Dover Fire and Police at Elm Bank. Popeye was transported to a local animal hospital for treatment, but is expected to be OK! pic.twitter.com/hJ4loh21Pe

— Wellesley Police (@WellesleyPolice) December 22, 2020

Thanksgiving really blew up in Wellesley this year

November 26, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Thanks to a Swellesley tipster who asked to remain anonymous for sharing these festive Thanksgiving photos from Lincoln Road in Wellesley. Why should Halloween and Christmas decorators have all the fun?

Photo shoot at new Wellesley Town Hall duck pond bridge gets wild in a hurry

November 25, 2020 by Bob Brown 3 Comments

I’d been keeping an eye on construction progress on the new pedestrian bridge at the Town Hall duck pond, waiting for the right time to take photos. Tuesday looked like the day as I happened to be driving past on my way back from picking up Wellesley Turkey Trot t-shirts and numbers at Marathon Sports. No construction workers or orange cones in sight, plus a bright blue sky for background.

Things started off simply enough as I took shots from different angles, getting the sun behind me and Town Hall in front.

While the water was flowing crisply beneath the bridge, there disappointingly was no sign of any ducks or geese.

So I decided to take a stroll around the pond to see if I could find any of these feathered ingrates.

When I got most of the way around I spotted a gaggle of geese, but a woman and young girl were hanging out there. I decided to give them some space and wandered over to an opening along the water where I could shoot a photo of the mostly white birds.

I then turned to my left to snap a photo of the old wooden bridge to nowhere that sits in the middle of the sanctuary. The bridge isn’t accessible to pedestrians.

But it is accessible to coyotes.

Just as I went to take the bridge photo, right at noon, an enormous one sauntered across. It was apparently well aware of where the birds had collected.

Fortunately, the presence of myself and the woman and girl must have encouraged the coyote to head to other parts for the time being.

“All of a sudden I saw all the birds’ heads go up,” the woman warned, clearly marking me as one of those idiot photographers who gets gored by bison at Yellowstone National Park.

She and the girls skittered away from the birds and towards the new bridge. It definitely seemed like the safest place to be.

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Wellesley police rescue a fellow night owl

November 21, 2020 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

Two Wellesley Police officers, working the midnight shift, answered the call overnight to rescue an owl caught up in some string from a lawn game.

wellesley police owl

The bird (we’re hazarding an educated guess this is a barred owl?) apparently wasn’t the wisest of owls.

Fortunately for the fowl, Field Training Officer (FTO) Mark Knapp and Officer Brian Collins, who Knapp has been showing the ropes,

According to Wellesley Police Department, “As an FTO on midnights your tasks are similar to your counterparts on the day and evening shift. However, after midnight an officer is often asked to resolve problems without many of the usual resources that are available during the day. As a midnight FTO a big part of your job is to pass down as much of this institutional knowledge as possible.”

The officers joined forces to extract one of the owl’s wings from string and a metal ring without further injuring the animal, which was transported to the Wellesley Animal Hospital for treatment.

It’s been a rough week for owls, which have been making headlines for getting into various fixes. A saw-whet owl was rescued from the big Christmas tree installed at Rockefeller Center in New York City.