The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Valley Forge park superintendent honored with ‘Dog’s Best Friend Award’
Annual Kennel Club of Philadelphia recognition heralds those who contribute to animal welfare in Delaware Valley
PHILADELPHIA » Rosalyn “Rose” Fennell, Superintendent of Valley Forge National Historical Park, has been named recipient of The Kennel Club of Philadelphia’s “Dogs’ Best Friend Award” for 2021.
Fennell, who champions the nationwide effort to get dogs (and their people) safely out to America’s National Parks, will be recognized on Saturday, Nov. 20, during the National Dog Show ceremonies at The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks.
As part of a new partnership to promote canine health and welfare in Montgomery County, Fennell is a huge supporter of the Park’s “B.A.R.K. Ranger” program, a national initiative which teaches dog owners and their canines parkfriendly best practices. Several members of the National Dog Show Therapy Dog Ambassador Team became B.A.R.K. Rangers this spring as a result of training at the Valley Forge National Historical Park.
In Fennell’s current role as Superintendent of Valley Forge National Historical Park she is responsible for all aspects of park activities, maintenance and improvement and for the planning of the 250th anniversary celebration of the George Washington
encampment, scheduled for 2027-2028. Fennell is also in charge of the Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site in Birdsboro, PA, and the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail which goes from Providence, RI to Yorktown, VA.
Fennell’s personal assistant in this task is Lincoln, a two-year-olds rescued Dutch Schipperke. Lincoln hails from the Midwest, where he was fostered by Hearts, Hands and Paws Rescue out of Omaha. Together, Rose and Lincoln try to embody the tenets of the B.A.R.K. Ranger program.
Tickets to the dog show this Saturday and Sunday are priced at $16 for vaccinated adults and can be purchased online at www.nds.nationaldogshow.com. Tickets will also be available at the door.
In conjunction with recommendations from national, state and local officials, the National Dog Show and the Kennel Club of Philadelphia will require proof of full COVID-19 vaccination upon entry into the building. No one under 12 will be admitted. There are three ways to provide proof of vaccination at the door: CLEAR APP Health Pass, Excelsior Pass or presentation of CDC Card plus photo ID. Picture of CDC Card on smartphone plus photo ID is acceptable.
The Kennel Club of Philadelphia created “The Dogs’ Best Friend Award” to inspire and motivate others to contribute to animal welfare in their community, and protect our region’s dogs whose service and companionship are a critical and enriching part of American life.
Past winners of the award are; Dr. Cindy Otto, founder of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center; former Philadelphia Phillies’ second baseman Chase Utley and his wife, Jen, for their establishment of the Utley Foundation; former CBS3 meteorologist, animal enthusiast and TV personality Carol Erickson; Marian Marchese, the founder of New Leash on Life USA, which takes at-risk dogs into Philadelphia prisons to be cared for by inmates preparing for release back into society; Morris Animal Rescue of Philadelphia, America’s oldest such facility; the Martin & Toni Sosnoff Foundation, which paid the medical bills of search and rescue dogs who worked at 9/11; and John DeBella, the popular Philadelphia morning radio personality for nearly four decades.