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Stolen Guiding Eyes Donation Dog statue replaced by local business group

| 15 Feb 2012 | 01:16
    Photo by Roger Gavan Four local business owners contributed to the replacement of a stolen Donation Dog statue used to help defray the cost of medications for puppies being raised by volunteers to become Guide Dogs for the blind and visually impaired. From left, G & T Auto Parts owner Tom Kobylaski with his daughter Katie, 13; Warwick resident Cheryl De Vine, an Orange County region volunteer ìpuppy raiser;î Emma, the Donation Dog; Guy Bogart, owner of Warwick Sanitation; Adam Powers, owner of Fetch Bar and Grill; Dottie Sanford of Warwick Sanitation; and Betsy Mitchell, co-owner of Track 7 Postal Center.
    Photo by Roger Gavan Four local business owners contributed to the replacement of a stolen Donation Dog statue used to help defray the cost of medications for puppies being raised by volunteers to become Guide Dogs for the blind and visually impaired. From left, G & T Auto Parts owner Tom Kobylaski with his daughter Katie, 13; Warwick resident Cheryl De Vine, an Orange County region volunteer ìpuppy raiser;î Emma, the Donation Dog; Guy Bogart, owner of Warwick Sanitation; Adam Powers, owner of Fetch Bar and Grill; Dottie Sanford of Warwick Sanitation; and Betsy Mitchell, co-owner of Track 7 Postal Center.

WARWICK — Last December, The Warwick Advertiser reported that a person or persons had stolen a Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) Donation Dog statue that had been sitting outside Fetch Bar & Grill at 48 Main St. in the Village of Warwick.

The small donations collected by the Yellow Lab replica were intended to help defray the cost of Frontline and heartworm medications for puppies being raised by volunteers to become Guide Dogs for the blind and visually impaired.

Although Warwick resident Cheryl De Vine, an Orange County region volunteer “puppy raiser,” offered a $500 reward for information leading to the return of the Donation Dog, it was never returned.

The good news, however, is that the statue, which had been smashed to pieces, was eventually discovered by Guy Bogart, owner of Warwick Sanitation.

“It was found in one of my trash receptacles,” said Bogart. “The statues are pretty expensive so I contacted a few other local business owners and we decided to chip in and order a new donation dog. We wanted to restore our community values.”

In addition to Warwick Sanitation, three other businesses; G&T Auto Parts of Warwick, Track 7 Postal Center and Fetch Bar and Grill, participated in the purchase.

Emma, the new donation dog, was given to Guiding Eyes for the Blind/ Orange County Region. All donation dogs are owned by Guiding Eyes for the Blind and loaned out where needed.

At this time the organization is partnering with the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce to sponsor a, “Where in the Town is Emma?” contest.

Chamber member businesses will play host to Emma every few weeks and anyone who spots her can drop in a note with his or her name and phone number and, hopefully, a few coins.

The person who locates all the businesses where Emma was a guest by June 15 will be invited to a summer graduation at Guiding Eyes for the Blind to tour the training facility as a guest and see firsthand why Emma is so important.

Guiding Eyes, headquartered in Yorktown Heights, is an internationally accredited, nonprofit guide dog school providing the blind and visually impaired with Guiding Eyes dogs, training, and lifetime support services.