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Companion Corner: Beauty at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a sweet dog waiting for their new home at 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.

Beauty is a 5-year-old bulldog mix and has been at the shelter for about a month after she didn't get along with other animals in the home.

Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri told us about Beauty: "Just very sweet, cuddly, but also very energetic, very playful, just a great companion, great, great little buddy."

Beauty is very energetic and loves to go outside and play. She loves to go on walks and is very obedient, is house trained, and she knows some commands.

"She loves to play tug, so she gets very excited. She loves to play fetch. She loves to go on walks, be out in the snow, and then she just food, of course," said Olivieri. "She loves snacks, loves working for food. And she also just really enjoys touch, companionship, petting, love. She just wants to be right here with you once all of her physical needs are met."

Beauty must be the only animal in the house as she has a prey drive for cats and does not like to live with other dogs. But Beauty is good to greet other dogs when she is on the leash. She also must go home with older kids.

"She doesn't want to share her humans with other dogs in the house or her belongings. She wants all the attention so no other dogs in the home. And for kids, if there's kids in the home, we're saying teenagers and up. Couple reasons, first of all, she can be a little bit nervous and shy and skittish with a lot of quick movements, young kids kind of move differently than adults, and that can make her cautious and a little scared," she said.  "And also, when she starts to play with her tug toys, she can get a little grabby with those teeth."

Beauty is perfectly healthy but may need some attention for her sensitive skin.

"She's got some sensitive skin, so she has some thinning hair on her back here, so she might need some extra vet visits for some skincare, medicated baths, fish oil, some supplements to kind of keep her coat nice and shiny and healthy and thick," Olivieri said. 

Beauty can be nervous around people at first and has shown some nervousness to men. But with patience she can warm right up to you.

"We have noticed with some people, like I said, with kids, but sometimes with men or strangers, she can be a little bit nervous at first," she said. "So she is a little cautious and careful around she might shy away from people she doesn't really know, so but it really does not take very long to earn her trust. You just have to be patient."

You can visit Beauty at the Berkshire Humane Society and read more about her 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.


Tags: Berkshire Humane Society,   dogs,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Soccer Hall of Fame Adds Members, Awards Scholarships

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The 2026 CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place at Berkshire Hills Country Club on Thursday.
 
The Hall of Fame's mission is to preserve the sport's history in Berkshire County, to honor excellence within the game and to make a connection between the generations that bring communities together. With players who last played on a soccer field in Berkshire County in the 1960s to the scholarship winners at the banquet on May 14th who played their last high school game in the fall of last year, we are achieving our goal. 
 
It is worth noting that this class of inductees is stellar. We have four County MVP selections, 14 All-Berkshire selections, eight All-Western Mass selections and, and nine captain honors, five four-year varsity starters and one five-year varsity starter. 
 
The players were introduced by committee chairmen Al Belanger and Patrick West. The scholarship winners were introduced by Chris Dumas, a member of the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame committee. The photographer for the evening was Ricco Fruscio. Over the past 21 years, the scholarships awarded to high school seniors in Berkshire County have topped $250,000.  
 
The 2026 Inductees:
Katie Dumas Sturm (Wahconah 2015) was a hard-nosed, and relentless four-year starter for Wahconah. She was a two-year captain in the middle of the field, scoring and assisting on clutch goals in big games. She was rewarded with being named All Berkshire, and All Western Mass in her senior year. She is married to Brent Sturm (who is also being inducted into the hall of fame this year) and has a son Banks and a 7-week-old Everett Michael. She works at General Dynamics. 
 
Brent Sturm (Wahconah 2009) was named to the All Berkshire Team in both his junior and senior years and won a Western Mass championship during his time at Wahconah. He also went on to have a stellar career at Wentworth Institute. He and his wife, Katie, are the first husband and wife inductees into the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame in the same year.  After college, he helped coach the Wahconah Soccer and basketball teams. He works at General Dynamics.
   
Nicole Gamberoni (Lenox 2019) was an impact player on her team for five years while at Lenox making All-Berkshire teams four times. She was captain twice, finished with 107 points, and was the league MVP two times. She also went on to play soccer at AIC. She is working at Lenox High School while she is getting her master’s degree. 
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