Long Island nonprofits plan $20M expansion to cut wait for trained dogs
A rendering of a 30,000-square-foot Puppy Development and Visitor Center in Smithtown. Credit: Guide Dog Foundation and America's VetDogs
A fox-red Labrador retriever, Jethro is a nightmare interrupter.
“A lot of veterans have nightmares,” said Russ Fincher, who served as a medic for the Coast Guard. “He senses when I’m having a nightmare, and he wakes me up.”
Fincher, 58, of Garden City, is one of more than 3,300 individuals who have been matched with a service dog by Smithtown-based sister nonprofits Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs, said Jamie Vullo, assistant director of public relations and marketing for both entities.
Preliminary site work on a 30,000-square-foot puppy development and visitor center in Smithtown is set to start as soon as next week, said John Miller, president and CEO of the Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs.
The added building at the Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs national headquarters is expected to increase the number of dogs the organizations can train and place. Right now, the organization can place between 100 to 150 dogs per year, Miller said.
“Over time, we hope to expand that capacity by 25%,” Miller said.
Established in 1946 and 2003, respectively, the Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs custom-train guide, service and facility dogs. Recipients of the dogs include individuals who have impaired vision or are blind, veterans, active-duty military personnel, and first responders. The organizations have placed 662 dogs with handlers in New York State, Vullo said.
The 2026 project, which will cost over $20 million, is fully supported by public donations, Miller said. Miller estimated the organization has raised almost $8.5 million and is continuing fundraising efforts with a projected September groundbreaking.
Scaling the operation means bringing in more volunteers, dogs and trainers, Miller said. It costs over $50,000 to raise, train and place each guide dog, he said. There is no charge for recipients, who spend two weeks living on the campus to learn how to care for their dogs and utilize commands.
To increase all services by 25% may take seven to 10 years, Miller said, and the first step is to build the new space. A 25% increase would mean a total of roughly 125 dogs placed per year, Vullo confirmed.
She also said it is anticipated the project will bring 10 new jobs over time.
The puppy development facility is expected to open in 2027 or 2028, according to a news release.
There are three established guide dog schools in New York, said Lucy Marr, treasurer of the New York Association of Guide Dog Users and president of the Syracuse chapter of the National Federation of the Blind.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Marr said, the schools temporarily stopped breeding and training dogs.
"For quite a while now, there has been a long waiting list at most of the schools, because there was just that shortage during that time," said Marr, 55, who is blind and was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease at age 5 and has her own guide dog partner, a black Labrador-golden retriever crossbreed named Ollie.
How long an applicant waits can depend on how specific their requirements are, Marr said. According to Miller, a typical wait time could be one to two years.
A guide dog facility expansion means more dogs and more opportunity for prospective recipients, Marr said.
“It is a feeling of freedom," Marr said. "You navigate the world differently with a guide dog than you do with a white cane.”
The impact of these services extends beyond the recipient to loved ones, and even strangers. When Fincher was paired with Jethro last June after a two-year application process, he was surprised by how much his world expanded. He became more comfortable in public places, found himself smiling and interacting with passersby on walks.
At a crowded golf event in Bethpage, he encountered a woman having a panic attack. Moments from putting the woman into an ambulance, a doctor asked Fincher how Jethro handled anxiety.
Fincher got down on his knees and introduced the woman to Jethro. Jethro circled her, then pressed his head onto her lap like a weighted blanket. They sat for 10 minutes.
“And then she got up and walked out,” Fincher said.
She asked what he had done.
“I said, it’s the magic of the dog,” Fincher said.
Arielle Dollinger joined Newsday as a staff reporter in 2022. Previously, she covered local and national news as a freelancer for The New York Times, Newsday and other outlets.
What local police departments do to combat the problem Suffolk created a street takeover task force in 2024 that has broken up more than 100 incidents in the county.
What local police departments do to combat the problem Suffolk created a street takeover task force in 2024 that has broken up more than 100 incidents in the county.
