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Talking Hounds – Fred & Carol Vogel of Brodny Fame…

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322 – The Annual, 2017-18

By John Contoupe

The state of Connecticut is beautiful in every season, but fall is the prettiest and most harvest-like. Around the corner from Wolf Den Park used to be Kingsbury Tavern, dating back to 1740 according to the plaque that hung on the house. Nowadays this structure is the home of Fred and Carol Vogel of “Brodny” fame. Many say that Israel Putnam, the Revolutionary general, known for his fighting at Bunker Hill, slay the last known wolf in Connecticut at what is now Wolf Den Park and around the corner from the Vogel home. After the slaying, the celebration be- tween the soldiers and the general lasted for three days and nights at the tavern. The original part of the Vogel home could very well date back to that period as its post and beam construction and hand hewn chestnut beams can still be seen in the corners of the house. During the renovations of the home, large granite slabs that they surmise were used to create a courtyard for carriages arriving at the tavern were un- earthed. Horsehair plaster and lath can be seen in the wall going up to the attic. The home sits on eight acres, four dedicated to the house and four to the kennel. Another four acres are across the road and are wooded and deeded to open space.

The Vogels got married in 1982. By that time, both were Borzoi enthusiasts, and Borzoi had been in Fred’s life since 1974. Carol was a prescriptive teacher for kindergarten children at an inner-city, trilingual public school in Springfield, Massachussetts for fourteen years. After they married, she became the director for the Learning Center affiliated with an Episcopal church near their home in West Redding, CT. She ran it for eight years before the Vogels moved to Pomfret Center. Fred was an art history major, but then pursued a degree in architecture and worked as an architectural designer for a firm in Manhattan, working on major hospital projects in the tristate area. Fred met Cherry and Dennis Jones of Cathcade Borzoi while an undergraduate. Later, when Fred bought his home in West Redding, he also got his first borzoi. The Joneses introduced Fred to Carol since they had littermates. The home in West Redding had the source of the Saugatuck River running through the property. That lead to the “BRODNY” kennel name, which means “one who lives by a small stream crossing”. Carol and Fred still breed under that name.

Etchings, particularly canine artwork, decorate the walls of the Vogel’s home. They have acquired many pieces in their travels over the years. The collection is comprised of porcelains, etchings, and bronze statues of mostly Borzoi. Many of the etchings are terriers, particularly examples of Morgan Dennis’s artwork.

The West Redding home, in the ‘80s, had a walkout basement and it lead to fenced yards for the Borzoi, each with an insulated dog house. That worked for a number of years, but when the number of dogs grew, and Wirehaired Dachshunds and some Scottish Deerhounds were added to the Vogel canine family, Carol and Fred sought a facility where they could house their dogs more comfortably with a larger space for the dogs. The present house and kennel were located. Dachshunds are housed in the kennel room (laundry room,) which opens to a fenced yard, and the Borzoi and the Greyhounds live in a separate room at the boarding kennel. The boarding has fallen off as the Vogels have progressed in years and now the majority of the boarding dogs are aged and have come to the facility since they were puppies.

Click here to read the complete article
322 – The Annual, 2017-18

Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=137632

Posted by on Jan 19 2018. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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