THE FIDELCO GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION, INC.
103 Old Iron Ore Road, Bloomfield, Conn. 06002
www.fidelco.org

NEWS RELEASE               

For Immediate Release   

Date: February 8, 2010 

Contact: Jack Hayward (Fidelco)                        
860-243-4800

Contact: Joe Gore:

860-228-9483

 

SEARCH AND RESCUE AT SITE OF THE MIDDLETOWN

POWER PLANT EXPLOSION

 

 On-site as part of Connecticut Task Force 1

Search and Rescue

 

              Middletown, Conn.- Joe Gore, of Bolton, Conn., finally found time to bring “Zappa,” his Fidelco German shepherd, to the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation for a badly-needed bath. Gore and Zappa had worked through the night at the site of the deadly Middletown power plant explosion which killed five people and injured many others. According to the Hartford Courant, the search was called off at 2:30 a.m. today because of concerns about the stability of the plant.

              Gore and Zappa, a Fidelco-bred German shepherd dog, have been doing search and rescue work for the last two and a half years as members of Connecticut Task Force 1 which locates, extricates and provides immediate medical treatment to victims who are lost or trapped within collapsed structures. He is also a long-time supporter of Fidelco and has raised eight “foster pups,” including his current foster “Zinc.”

            “Talking with Joe and seeing Zappa as they came from the devastation of the Middletown power plant reminds us all how lucky we are to have teams like them available when disaster strikes,” said Eliot D. Russman, CEO and executive director of the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, Inc. “The fact that Zappa’s breeding and work ethic makes him valuable in search and rescue is even more gratifying.”

              Fidelco, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Bloomfield, Conn., breeds, trains and places its own, unique type of German shepherd guide dogs with people who have visual disabilities. It pioneered In-community Placement in the United States; a process that allows guide dog users to be trained in the communities where they live and work. Fidelco relies solely on the gifts and the generosity of individuals, foundations, corporations and civic organizations to help it “Share the Vision.”

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