Blind Man Can Choose to Keep Hero Dog Thanks to Donation

The service dog – 11-year-old Orlando – that helped save his blind master when he lost consciousness and tumbled down a subway platform in upper Manhattan Tuesday morning – would be able to stay with Cecil Williams should he choose so thanks to a generous donation. 

Orlando, a black Labrador that was trained and provided by Yorktown-based Guiding Eyes for the Blind, was getting ready to retire next month after seven years of service. Williams, 61, is slated to get another service dog from Guiding Eyes in January or February. 

Although Williams initially planned to retire Orlando with his puppy raisers because he couldn't care for him due to financial concerns, he's now considering to keep him as his pet. 

That's possible thanks to New Jersey businessman Andrew Peira who has offered to pay for Orlando's expenses for life, should Williams choose to keep him. 

Guiding Eyes for the Blind provides guide dogs free of service, but once they are retired, the organization is no longer equipped to cover those cost.

"No matter the choice, Orlando will end up in a safe and loving home," Guiding Eyes for the Blind spokesperson Michelle Brier told Patch.

When Williams fell onto the tracks earlier this week, Orlando kissed him to revive him as witnesses tried to slow an oncoming train in Harlem, according to multiple media reports. 

"They had a really wonderful working life together over the last seven years," Brier said at a press conference on Wednesday. "We are really happy that as the incident was happening, Orlando still remembered so much of his training about platforms and worked hard to pull Cecil away and to safety. And we're also pretty amazed by the demonstration of the bond between the two of them. And it's just another reminder of how incredible the relationships between humans and animals are."

Guiding Eyes for the Blind officials said both Williams and his hero dog, who were first matched together in August of 2006, are doing well. 

"Orlando – he is my best buddy," Williams said at a press conference on Wednesday. "He takes me on the trains, he takes me on buses, he takes me anywhere I need to go."

Since the incident, Guiding Eyes for the Blind had received numerous request from the public about ways they could help Williams and Cecil. The organization was setting up a fund, but it was later learned that contributions are no longer needed because of Peira's generous donation. 

On Wednesday, visibly emotional Williams thanked all the people who made donations and reached out. He asked people "find it in your hearts" to support the ongoing mission of Guiding Eyes for the Blind so other people with disabilities could also be matched with a service dog. 

"He is really trained to save lives and protect me," Williams said of his hero dog Orlando.

To make a donation to Guiding Eyes for the Blind and for more information visit http://www.guidingeyes.org.

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To watch Wednesday's press conference click here.