Abby Is Newtown’s Top Dog

By Kaaren Valenta

Newtown’s #1 dog is Abby, an almost 10-year-old Brittany spaniel who lives with the Letson family on Washington Hill Road.

Town Clerk Cindy Simon presented Abby with a gift card to Petco to spend on whatever treats she might like. Each year the town clerk awards a special #1 tag by a random drawing of the dogs that were licensed by June 30 to comply with state regulations. Abby was one of 1,036 dogs licensed by that date.

“She has her own [Petco] credit card to go to the store and shop,” Mr Letson said, laughing. “We thought maybe we’d take her to the store, let her look around and where she stops, we’d buy it — I don’t know.”

The Letson family includes Daniel and Barbara Letson, their son, Daniel, who is a sophomore at Carnegie Melon University; Sarah, a senior at the University of Chicago; a cat named Todd, and several chickens.

“We keep telling Todd that he is the number one cat so he doesn’t get jealous,” Barbara Letson said.

Past winners  include Pink Miller, Ginger Martino, Baccus Holm, Norway Kolber, Daisy Higgins, Shade Clark, Maxwell Plouffe, Nugget Nagy, Digger Wismar, and Katie Duquette.

Ms Simon said there are many dogs that still need to be licensed. She urges all dog owners to drop by the town hall for a new license.