[nagdu] Missing guide dog found struck by car

[Ginger Kutsch]

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=10412802
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Missing guide dog found struck by car 
Jennie Runevitch/Eyewitness News
 
Indianapolis - A man who lost his very independence this week is
now in need of a new companion.
 
Todd Wills is missing his best friend, but his 85-pound black lab
was more than a pet.
 
"I just can't imagine not being with him. I'm already feeling
lost," Wills said. "It's like I've lost my sight all over again."

 
Bruin was Todd's link to life. The highly-trained, highly
expensive guide dog had served as Todd's eyes for three years.
 
"Hopefully other people will understand the difference between a
pet and a guide dog. I mean, he's still kind of a pet, but he's a
part of me and I'm missing a chunk of me," Wills said.
 
Bruin disappeared early Thursday morning after getting spooked by
a cat at his home on Broadway Street.
 
"We were coming in the door and I stopped at the screen door to
let him off his harness and leash so he could run in and a cat
charged him. I stepped out immediately started calling him
and...nothing," Wills said.
 
Late Thursday, Wills got the news he'd feared. A police officer
came to his door and said they found Bruin near the corner of
40th and College. The guide dog had been hit by a car.
 
"They matched the collar up and he wasn't in good shape.
Apparently, whoever hit him didn't feel it was important enough
to stop," Wills said.
 
Todd's companion, his source of independence, was gone, and their
important bond was broken.
 
"It just doesn't feel right to walk around without him. I find
myself, you know, crying over Bruin all day and then I'm thinking
that I need to get another guide dog so I can continue my
independence," Wills said.
 
But guide dogs can cost tens of thousands of dollars and require
extensive training. While most of the cost is underwritten by
donations, Todd says he will still have to pay several thousand
dollars out-of-pocket, which is difficult since he's on
disability and in school.
"That makes it a challenge to put all this together,"  Wills
said.
 
For now, Todd is coping with loss and in need of another guide
through life.
 
 
 
 
 


Ginger Bennett Kutsch
Morristown, NJ