Juliet the husky is the ultimate survivor. In one year, she was shot, abandoned by her owner, and left to survive with her shattered leg in an old cemetery near Pittsburgh, Penn. She survived by hopping from yard to yard and living for months off the kindness of neighbors. Eventually, a group of volunteers rescued her and brought her to the Pittsburgh Animal Friends shelter. It was there that Juliet’s “forever” home story began. After surgery and six months of rehab for her leg, Juliet was put up for adoption.

Her unfortunate start in life made her skittish and fearful of strangers. Over the course of four years and two failed adoptive families, a special group of volunteers never gave up on Juliet and continued to show her that humans could be kind and compassionate. She became the “Queen of Animal Friends” and a quasi-celebrity among the animal-sheltering community due to her story and the length of her stay in the shelter. Juliet’s strength inspired one of those dedicated volunteers, Holly Gumbeski, to finally adopt her, and Juliet will live out her remaining years on Gumbeski’s property.

As a result, the kind-hearted volunteer started the Home for Juliet campaign, which involved raising money to remodel an old shed into a climate-controlled dog house that opens to a new beautifully fenced-in area for Juliet to safely and securely enjoy her life. When it came time to turn an open yard and old shed into a permanent home for Juliet, Gumbeski began designing plans that would not only create a beautiful environment for Juliet but also add value to her property. “My goal was to find fencing that was attractive and usable from a property value perspective, but was also low-maintenance, strong, provided privacy, and was safe to contain Juliet,” said Gumbeski. “And I didn’t want the usual white plastic fence. I wanted something that had a rich woodgrain look to it.” Holly decided on the six-foot Pinnacle® laminated vinyl privacy fencing by VEKA Outdoor Living Products in the Walnut color.

(Laminated vinyl fencing takes extruded white or colored vinyl and adds a high-end, weatherable film that is applied to the profile in a post-extrusion process.)

“Laminating vinyl profiles is something that’s common in the vinyl window and door business. VEKA has been doing laminates on profiles for over 20 years,” noted Chris Young, division manager for VEKA’s Outdoor Living Products (OLP) group. “VEKA debuted laminated vinyl fencing and railing in their FENCE TECH booth and at other regional fence shows in 2016. It’s been very well received by our existing dealers and others.

“We know that the weathering performance cannot be matched by an extruded acrylic, making it the top-tier quality option in vinyl fencing today,” added Tom Plevel, sales account executive for VEKA OLP.

The job was installed by Affordable Fence and Railing, LLC of Pittsburgh, Penn., which is located just

one-quarter mile from Animal Friends, where Juliet lived for over four years.

Affordable Fence & Railing owner, Jim Rouser, said he knew Pinnacle Walnut would be a good fit for the project, noting, “I knew Holly wanted a woodgrain look that would last, a strong product and something low maintenance. With four different woodgrains to offer, VEKA Pinnacle provided a good selection for her to choose from. Also, it’s really cool that the product is blended, extruded, laminated, and fabricated all locally here in the Pittsburgh area.”

The entire project included a total of 186 feet of six-foot VEKA Pinnacle Walnut privacy fence and another 77 feet of black aluminum fencing with a double gate. Also included in the project was the renovation of the shed to include a new concrete floor, new glass-front double doors, and the addition of internal and external lighting, an insulated doggie door, and a heating/cooling unit.