Guiding Eyes and Hurricane Sandy

Friends from around the country have been checking in with us over the past two days and we are deeply grateful for everyone’s concern.

Our Training School and Canine Development Center campuses have both survived the storm with minimal damage. The heavy winds took out most of the fencing along the side of our Yorktown property, and there were scattered branches and debris in the large open running space in the back of our Patterson land.

More importantly – all of our humans and dogs are safe. Despite power loss and property damage to their own homes, our team truly came together to ensure the well-being of the students in class and the dogs in our kennel buildings. When the Yorktown generator acted up briefly, housekeeping and maintenance staff found creative solutions to provide healthy meals. I really commend our staff for their incredible efforts during this time.

It might take awhile for regular power to be restored, but almost all of our staff is back in the office today. The Canine Development Center is still experiencing some phone and internet outages, so please don’t be alarmed if your calls and emails aren’t responded to immediately. Our guide dog class left the building for the first time since Saturday and the new teams are continuing their work together in White Plains. We look forward to hosting graduation this Saturday and In-For-Training evaluations next Monday.

Thank you for the well-wishes and kind thoughts throughout Hurricane Sandy. As we pick up the pieces, we think of the families around the area who have been very seriously affected by the storm; our hearts are with all of them today.

Bill Badger, President