Companion Corner: Ollie at Berkshire Humane Society

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a little dog with big energy waiting for his forever home at the Berkshire Humane Society.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

Ollie is a four-year-old mixed breed that has been at the shelter since September. 

Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri told us about Ollie.

"Just very sweet, very, very, very loving lap dog, and also a little adventure buddy. He's very confident and a great, great little buddy," she said.

He was dropped off at the shelter Sept. 30 after he was having a hard time fitting in at his home.

"He was having difficulties fitting in with the family," Olivieri said. "There were some young kids, and he was tending to escape and get out of the house quite a bit, and he would go on daily adventures around the neighborhood, and it was just becoming not very safe for him and a little bit too much for his owner to handle with the young kids as well."

Ollie needs a family who will be patient with him. Older children would be better as he can have a hard time warming up and occasionally likes his space. He enjoys being outside and needs someone who is going to let him explore the outdoors as much as he can.

"Ollie would love a family with, if there are kids, teens and up, he can be a little bit funny about being picked up and body handling. So he needs a family who's very patient and understanding, and once he trusts you, he actually does enjoy being picked up. So a family that would really spend a lot of time with him outside," she said. "He's used to being outside quite a bit, so he loves to use his nose and just follow his nose on 'sniffaris' out in the woods. He would love to go to new locations, different places each week, different hikes, different walks, so that he could really explore with his nose."

He likes the attention and would prefer to be the only dog but he can be in a home with other cats.

"He really likes being doted on and loved and kind of fussed over. He likes to be the center of attention," Olivieri said. "He has lived with a cat before. He had a really good relationship with a cat in the previous home, so he could go to a home with cats. Other dogs, I think he would prefer to be the only dog."

With how much Ollie likes being outside, it is important he keeps up with his vaccines and preventatives.

"I believe he was positive for Lyme disease, which is very common for most dogs. So as long as he keeps up on his flea and tick prevention and his Lyme vaccine, that's going to help protect him and keep him to stay safe, especially since he loves to be outside, he's going to get some ticks on him. So he just needs to stay on top of preventatives and preventative vaccines as well."

Ollie is house broken but has occasionally marked an area. The shelter doesn't think this is a chronic problem because it may be his being in a new area or a one-time thing. Potential adopters could do a trial period with Ollie to see how he behaves.

"He will sometimes mark in a new area. He is potty trained, but he might lift a leg on a couch or something in the home while he's marking his area, his new space," Olivieri said. "There are belly bands. We have some at the shelter we could send him home with, just to discourage that behavior."

Ollie does also guard his food; when he is eating he likes to be left alone to eat.

But Ollie would love to meet someone who will allow him to be on the couch or bed so that he can get in some snuggle time.

"He's a cuddler. He just wants to be with you, probably under those covers. So he's gonna make such a great little companion for someone," she said.

You can visit Ollie at the Berkshire Humane Society and read more about him on the website.

The Berkshire Humane Society is open Tuesday through Sunday. The adoption center is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Dalton Board Signs Off on Land Sale Over Residents' Objections

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:50AM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Residents demanded the right to speak but the agenda did not include public comment. Amy Musante holds a sign saying the town now as '$20,000 less for a police station.'

DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board signed the sale on the last of what had been known as the Bardin property Monday even as a handful of residents demanded the right to speak against the action. 

 

The quitclaim deed transfers the nine acres to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels in Dalton. They were the third-highest bidders at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded them the land in an effort to keep the property intact.

 

"It's going to be an ongoing battle but one I think that has to be fought [because of] the disregard for the taxpayers," said Dicken Crane, the high bidder at $51,510.

 

"If it was personal I would let it go, but this affects everyone and backing down is not in my nature." 

 

Crane had appealed to the board to accept his bid during two previous meetings. He and others opposed to accepting the lower bid say it cost the town $20,000. After the meeting, Crane said he will be filing a lawsuit and has a citizen's petition for the next town meeting with over 100 signatures. 

 

Three members of the board — Chair Robert Bishop Jr., John Boyle, and Marc Strout — attended the 10-minute meeting. Members Anthony Pagliarulo and Daniel Esko previously expressed their disapproval of the sale to the Balardinis. 

 

Pagliarulo voted against the sale but did sign the purchase-and-sale agreement earlier this month. His reasoning was the explanation by the town attorney during an executive session that, unlike procurement, where the board is required to accept the lowest bid for services, it does have some discretion when it comes to accepting bids in this instance.