[nagdu] Donations pour in for New York City blind man saved by guide dog after subway fall

[Marsha Drenth]

I also heard this on the radio and news. But I am a bit confused, can someone please explain what the man's health insurance has to do with keeping or not keeping the dog? I have never heard of health insurance covering a service animal. 


Marsha drenth  
Sent with my IPhone 

> On Dec 19, 2013, at 7:38 AM, "Ginger Kutsch" <GingerKutsch at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> Donations pour in for New York City blind man saved by guide dog after
> subway fall
> 
> Published December 18, 2013/ 
> 
> FoxNews.com
> 
> http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/12/18/donations-pour-in-for-new-york-city-bli
> nd-man-saved-by-guide-dog-after-subway/
> 
> 
> 
> Online donations topped $40,000 after a blind man who was rescued by his
> guide dog told reporters that he needed to give up his beloved dog because
> the dog was retiring and his insurance would no longer cover the care for
> the animal, Reuters reported.
> 
> 
> 
> "We recognize everyone's concern about Orlando's future, whether he stays
> with Cecil or goes back to the loving home of his puppy raiser, please know
> he will be honored like the hero he is," Guiding Eyes for the Blind, the
> organization that provided Cecil Williams the dog, said in a statement.
> 
> 
> 
> Williams, 61, who became blind after a bout with meningitis in 1995, said he
> became dizzy Tuesday morning on the platform at 145th Street in New York
> City and lost his footing. A quick-thinking subway conductor managed to hit
> the brakes and the train, for the most part, safely passed over them.
> Transit officials pulled Orlando out from under the train before Williams
> was extracted with the help of a backboard and neck brace.
> 
> 
> 
> Williams held a press conference at the hospital where he said his dog is
> going to be retired and enjoy the remainder of his life. He thanked those
> who contributed to these funds and said this is an example that "good people
> still exist in this world."
> 
> 
> 
> He said Orlando has been a loyal companion and said they are alike in some
> ways.
> 
> 
> 
> "We both have gentle souls," he said.
> 
> 
> 
> Michelle Brier, the director of marketing from the organization, said
> Williams had been planning to give up the dog he received from the
> origination back in 2006 because caring for two dogs would have been a
> hardship. Williams said he never wanted to give up the dog, but keeping his
> was impossible because a retired guide dog is not covered by his insurance.
> 
> 
> 
> "The dog saved my life," Williams told the Associated Press from St. Luke's
> Hospital, where he was taken with a cut on his head. "I'm feeling amazed. I
> feel that God, the powers that be, having something in store from me. They
> didn't take me away this time. I'm here for a reason."
> 
> 
> 
> Several donation web pages have been created in an effort to raise enough
> money to keep the pair together, Reuters reported. Donations on Indiegogo
> has already reached $19,000. On the site Gofundme, more than 600 people have
> donated more than $21,000 for the cause.
> 
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