FARMINGTON — The two women found dead at their business on Red Schoolhouse Road earlier in the week were remembered Friday as valued members of the Farmington community who sought to help others in times of need.
Allison Joy Cumming GoFundMe.com
Allison Joy Cumming, the 53-year-old owner of Pawsitive Dog Kennel, had in recent years started a Facebook community to help those who were suffering due to the various complications of the COVID pandemic. As an Army veteran, she also helped others who had been in the service.
“She was the kindest, sweetest person you could ever know,” said one friend. “She loved her country, she loved her community, she loved her friends and she loved her dogs.”
Cumming and her mother, 76-year-old Jean Robinson, were found dead Wednesday at the business. Maine State Police were investigating but have not disclosed how the pair died.
Dozens of people Friday took to social media to share their memories about the women. Many of them were dog owners who frequently housed their pets at Cumming’s business. Others knew Cumming through her Farmington NEEDS group, established during the early part of the pandemic.
“.. so many of us are so heart broken,” wrote one member of the Facebook group. “We loved both Joy and her mom Jean, who was also an amazing, kind, incredible friend and part of our Farmington dog group for many years. So many hearts will need to heal and I hope we get some answers soon. They deserve that.”
The women were discovered dead at 274 Red School House Road on Wednesday morning. State police, along with Farmington Police and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, have been investigating since.
Once the deaths became publicly known, dog owners began asking police for help getting their dogs out of the kennel. There were no indications that any of the animals were harmed. Cumming’s personal dogs were taken to the Franklin County Animal Shelter, although friends were working to get those dogs placed in a home later Friday.
The two women were well-known and popular in the area, in part because of the dog kennel and in part because of the way they engaged with the community and tried to help where they could.
“This is a tragedy,” wrote another woman, on the Facebook page. “Joy’s mother, Jean, was my close friend — people often joked we were made from the same stardust. Her zest for life and to find the best in every moment and to live every moment were gifts. We had several adventures together that I will always remember. Joy had a giving kind soul.”
Many of those who commented about the tragedy asked for anonymity. They wanted it this way, they said, because Cumming and her mother were private people. They liked to keep things intimate and confined to their own community.
Cumming started the Facebook NEEDS group to help people who needed various things while the pandemic was grinding on. Through the group, local people could share information on where and how to get things like baby clothes, food items or whatever was needed at the moment.
Those looking to sell things through the group were quickly removed. Cumming, her friends said, was not looking to profit. She was looking to help.
After the pandemic wound down, the group remained a place for people in need to ask for clothes, for rides, for information on housing — whatever situation they were in, the Facebook community was there to help.
“She was just wonderful to this community,” one friend said.
Robinson had recently moved to 274 Red Schoolhouse Road to live in a separate residence near her daughter, according to a family friend.
“They were loving people,” the woman said, “and they were good to each other.”
While police haven’t disclosed the manner in which the two women died, they did stress that there is no threat to the public. That was little consolation for those who were missing Cumming and Robinson on Friday.
“It just isn’t fair,” said a woman who frequently housed her dog with Cumming’s kennel. “And everybody that knew her and or her mom is all saying the same thing — they’re feeling that same heartbreak.”
Also on Friday, local woman Carolyn Fast organized a fundraiser to raise money for the two women’s burial expenses.
“Our community suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of Joy Cumming and her mother, Jean Robinson,” Fast wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Joy made a difference in the lives of many, both human and canine, and now is our turn to help her family with burial and memorial costs. As most of you know, Joy was a tremendously giving and spiritual person. She overcame so many obstacles in her life and emerged an inspiration to us all. She was an artist in every sense of the word.”
The fundraiser can be found at gofundme.com/f/joy-cumming.
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