Community Corner

Family Offers Reward for Missing Service Dog

Echo was trained in Yorktown by Guiding Eyes for the Blind.

The family of Echo, the missing service dog, is still hoping for the best: the safe return of their son's Heeling Autism canine.

Emily Fontana of Rye, whose son is aided by Echo, said they feel she is out there somewhere.

"I know she's alive," Fontana said. "It's just going to take somebody who's heard about it and pays attention."

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Echo is a 55-pound black female Labrador retriever with a red collar and a Guiding Eyes tag.

She said there is a tracker dog coming in Wednesday to assist in the search and a reward is being offered.

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"I've gotten a call that there has been sightings of a black lab on Chester Avenue in Greenhaven so far," Fontana said, but a subsequent search of the area was not successful.

"We are just hoping to get the word out," she said.

Since the disappearance of Echno, the Fontana family has been in touch with Guiding Eyes for the Blind officials. They have reached out to the community, alerted animal support agencies and a network of veterinarians to help find the missing service dog, who is microchipped.

"We know Echo loves to be with people and we hope she has found her way into someone’s home," Sue Dishart, Vice President of Marketing and Development at Guiding Eyes for the Blind, told Patch. "We just hope that wherever she is, she will be returned to serve Mark again."

The Fontana family was accepted into the Heeling Autism program so that Echo could support their son Mark, who is diagnosed with autism.

On average it costs $45,000 to breed, train and provide a lifetime of follow up care for one of Guiding Eyes for the Blind's dogs. These dogs are provided to families at no cost to them.

"The value on the side of the family is immeasurable," Dishart said. "The placement of one of our dogs with them is life-changing."

For families with autistic children, life can be extraordinarily stressful – from finding the right therapies to dealing with the neurological disorder's impact on the entire family. But 'Heeling Autism' provides an improved quality of life for both the family and the child. 

Emily Fontana can be reached at 914-967-2796 or cell 914-708-7609. Anyone who finds Echo can either call Rye police or the Guiding Eyes number on her collar.


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