image description — Knight is a perfect gentleman on a leash but his exuberance for life sometimes causes him to get rowdy so he must go to a home without kids under 16.

Sonsini Shelter's Last Animal 'Knight' Seeking a Kingdom of His Own

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:02PM / Thursday, August 31, 2023Print Story | Email Story

Knight currently has the shelter to himself.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As the last animal of Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter, Knight is living more like a king.

The under-2-year-old American pit bull mix has the whole shelter as his palace but longs for a forever home. He has been all over social media and done plenty of meet-and-greets but has yet to find the perfect match.

Shelter Manager Noelle Howland is going to ensure that Knight's story ends well. Though the shelter closed to the public on Friday, she will stay there with the pup until he finds an adopter.

Knight is a perfect gentleman on a leash but his exuberance for life sometimes causes him to get rowdy so he must go to a home without kids under 16.

"He's not aggressive and that's his thing. He's not trying to be mean. He's just a puppy," Howland explained.

"So whoever takes him home needs to be able to control that and not let it escalate and training. I think with training he will be so good but we can only do so much here."

So far, he knows how to sit, stay, heel, come, and "drop it." He also accepts treats gently and when excited, gets an incredibly photogenic "pitty smile."

Haddad Hyundai is sponsoring Knight's adoption fees and helping with training costs through Noble Paws Canine Training LLC.

The pup can possibly go to a home with a female dog but not a male dog. Howland's ideal fit would be a single person or a younger to middle-aged couple who can handle his energy and need for structure.

In late July, the shelter's board of directors announced that it would be closing its doors, citing financial constraints and insufficient space.

Soon after, Howland created a GoFundMe page to save the shelter and secure a better building. It has since raised over $50,000 of a $100,000 goal.

About a week after announcing the closure, the board of directors decided to hand leadership over to Howland. She will be continuing the shelter's mission under a different name and is in search of a new building to properly serve the dogs and cats, which is imperative because the current facility cannot meet the animals' needs.

Over the month of August, shelter staff and volunteers worked to get all of the dogs and cats into homes. The shelter will have a tag sale with items that they are not storing until a new location is found.

"Today's our last day here but we will still be here because Knight is here," Howland explained on Thursday.

"So I don't want people to think like we're just getting up and leaving. That was my main thing. I wanted to make sure I could still be here with him."

More information on Knight can be found here. The shelter's GoFundMe page can be found here.

Tags: animal shelter, dogs,

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Fenton: Governor's Council Must Deliver for the Berkshires

Community submissionGuest Column
10:22AM / Friday, August 28, 2026

I am a Springfield lawyer running for Governor's Council and I am asking for Berkshire County residents to support me over an incumbent from North Adams.

Here's why: Last year I learned about staffing issues in our regional courts that I could not ignore. In 2025, it was reported that four of Western Massachusetts' 11 Superior Court judgeships were vacant, all at the same time. A few weeks later, that grew to five vacancies. This meant there were only six Superior Court judges serving all of Western Mass at a time when Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden counties had more than 100 pending homicide cases.

Those numbers were alarming to me, so I started to engage with leaders in the community who work most closely with the court system and I came to learn that these vacancies were only the tip of the iceberg here in Berkshire County.

I learned that no Superior Court or District Court judge had been appointed from the Berkshires since the current incumbent took office. As a result, there is not a single Superior Court judge who lives in the Berkshires today, and several of the District Court judges drive in from other counties to support Berkshire courts in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and North Adams. Court staff also informed me about severe staffing shortages at the Berkshire Clerk of Courts office resulting in other counties needing to loan staff to the Berkshires just so hardworking employees can take a brief and planned summer vacation. This is not normal. These issues are a reflection of genuine problems with the Berkshire County court system and show a lack of proactive attention from our Governor's Councilor.

Instead of focusing on regional equity, I watched as the current incumbent celebrated that she has voted against the governor's nominees more than any other councilor, without much explanation as to why. Most recently, she voted against two extremely qualified former prosecutors for the Parole Board. This was despite an in-person plea from the governor and a letter of support from all the three of the district attorney's from Western Mass. Those votes do not show independence or standing up for principles, they demonstrate naivete, and an unwillingness to work with the key stakeholders.

I had seen and heard enough. I decided to jump in the race and challenge the incumbent to address these problems head-on.

I am a partner of a regional law firm. I understand our courts and the importance of having qualified, fair and hardworking judges. And I know how important it is to have judges from the Berkshires serving the Berkshires. To achieve that, you need strong relationships with the legal community and local stakeholders. You need to know how to use the power of the Governor's Council to fight forcefully for our region. And you need to be laser focused on identifying vacancies before they occur so that they can be filled quickly with local candidates.

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