Dale Picard
Dale comes from a large farming family in the northern part of Maine. When he was nineteen, he left for Connecticut with a high school friend and found work in the iron industry. He also found his soon-to-be bride, Lu. They were soon married and had two daughters while traveling for Dale’s iron work. Four years later, Dale and Lu came back to Connecticut and began working for his brother-in-law’s highly successful software company. While Lu loved her position managing the warehouse and distribution, Dale dreamed of having his own business. In the years to follow, Dale would own and operate two very successful delis in the Granby, CT area and start his own landscaping business. However, when Lu’s father came to live with them, her passion for educating both children and dogs to help people living with disabilities became his own. In 1995, Dale began converting their home in Torrington, CT into kennels and office space, repurposing materials from the existing structures. He did this, not knowing that his hand-built space would transform into the volunteer and awareness hub that is the present-day Laura J. Niles Breeding and Volunteer Center. Dale has made ECAD his supreme labor of love, and continues to do so each day.
