The Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities has a guide dog whose name holds special significance to the city’s history, and whose training organization has earned international recognition.
“The name is Downey and he is ironically named after a great NYC FDNY chief who died in 9/11,” explains Sapolin.
Deputy Chief Raymond M. Downey, Commanding Officer of the Special Operations Command, died helping people escape from the World Trade Center on 9/11.
“Chief Downey's phenomenal 39-year career with the FDNY was built upon success after success and rescue after rescue. One of the most - if not the most decorated men in the Department, Chief Downey received five individual medals for valor and 16 unit citations. Additionally, he was awarded the Administration Medal in 1995 for his efforts on the Bunker Gear Program and interim quartermaster system,” the family said on its website.
Downey’s family established the Deputy Chief Raymond Downey Scholarship Charity Fund to memorialize and pay tribute to his life and name, and to benefit the organizations he cared about.
“The family does charity for the foundation I get my guides from, and I get him. To me, it’s like a miracle,” said Sapolin.
That organization, the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc., was established in 1964 in Forest Hills, Queens. It provides guide dogs free of charge and offers small classes and individual instruction to national and international students with hearing impairments, blindness and physical challenges.
The organization is supported by donations from individuals, corporations and foundations. It provides room and board for 25 days of training to new dog owners, which covers grooming and medical care for the dog, as well as public awareness and access laws.
Last year, the foundation became the first assistance dog school in the world to receive dual accreditation from the International Guide Dog Federation as well as Assistance Dogs International.
The foundation breeds male and female Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers Lab/Golden crosses, and Standard Poodles known for “temperament, gentleness, and physical soundness,” the organization said. Staff members train the dogs to “find and follow a clear path, maneuver around obstacles and stop at curbs,” only disobeying when there is danger.
The foundation is based in Smithtown, Long Island. There are regional staff members in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina.
Some of the other organizations that benefit from the Downey fund include New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation, The Marty Lyons Foundation, Inc., Our Lady of Rosary Knights of Columbus, FF Thomas Elsasser Fund and the Deer Park High School Student Athletes.
“By doing this, the family wishes to honor the legacy of Ray Downey, a wonderful Husband, a supportive Dad, and an outstanding Poppy,” the family says on its website.
“The fire service was a major force in his life, as evidenced by his sterling career. He truly was a legend in his own time,” the family said.
Donations to the fund are tax deductible and each donor recieves a letter of acknowledgment from the Downey family.
For more information visit: www.chiefraydowney.com/ and www.guidedog.org/.
This article was published in the October 2010 issue of Able News.
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