Arthur and Irene Sniffin receive the President’s Award from Huntington Historical Society. Photo from Claudia S. Fortunato-Napolitano
A longtime Huntington couple has dedicated more than 40 years to improving the quality of information available to Huntington residents by volunteering at Huntington Historical Society.
Arthur and Irene Sniffin moved from Massapequa to Huntington in 1966 and have been immersed in the history of the town ever since.
“I always had an interest in local history,” Arthur Sniffin said in a phone interview. “When we moved, I was looking for something to do with history and the historical society was a perfect fit.”
Suffolk County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) put the spotlight on their work earlier this year when he handed them a county proclamation for being awarded the President’s Award for Excellence in Service from their historical society this year.
“Our community owes Irene and Artie a debt of gratitude for the countless hours they have dedicated to preserving our local history and helping many of us discover our own family origins,” Spencer said in a statement.
Arthur Sniffin began working at the historical society as a trustee and then treasurer, while Irene Sniffin volunteered at the resource center and eventually became the historical society’s librarian, where she helped update the archives.
Arthur Sniffin is credited as being the founding chairman of the historical society’s genealogy workshop, and both he and his wife worked together over the years to organize genealogy courses, called root seminars, which helped people from across Long Island better understand how to search for history on their ancestry.
”As people get older and retire, they want to know more about where they came from,” Irene Sniffin said in a phone interview. “They want to become more aware of who their ancestors are, so we helped them find that information.”
She said they were both able to help people get interested and better in touch with their family history.
The Sniffins’ family history is also impressive. Arthur Sniffin is a direct descendant of Thomas Powell, a prominent figure from Long Island in the late 15th and 16th century, who secured the land transaction known as the Bethpage Purchase. According to Arthur Sniffin, once he started working at the historical society, he learned that one of his ancestors was actually the first recorded death in Huntington Town.
“The more I was helping people, the more I ended up learning myself,” he said.
The Sniffins have also helped with the transition of the archives from the old resource center to the new library, which will be located on Main Street next to the Huntington Arts Council. They collected residents’ information, including obituaries and features from newspapers in the past several centuries, to make sure the historical society’s record of the town is maintained.
“The history of the town and the people have to be preserved,” Irene Sniffin said. “I think people forget that when they get caught up with the many other parts of a normal routine, but it’s important. I felt like I was doing something constructive that needed to be done.”
She said it was both exciting and surprising to be honored by the historical society and Legislative Spencer and Arthur Sniffin said he agreed.
Dr. Ron “The Mazzacutioner” Mazza, left, squares off in the ring against Commack’s Sinai “The Mountain” Megibow, right, in the Long Island Fight for Charity. Photo from Jen Vaglica
A Commack man who packs a big punch used it for good when he stepped into the ring to help raise money for Long Island charities.
Long Island Fight for Charity hosted its 12th Main Event on Nov. 23 at the Hilton Long Island in Melville. Months of training came to an end when 26 business professionals turned volunteer boxers put their gloves on and stepped into the ring. In the fifth bout of the evening, Sinai “The Mountain” Megibow of Commack and investigative counsel, private investigator, founding partner of Radius Investigations in Melville entered the ring to face his opponent, Dr. Ron “The Mazzacutioner” Mazza of Northport and Chiropractor at Synergy Multicare Professionals in Westbury. Both boxers landed solid hits on each other in the three one-minute rounds, impressing all the judges.
“I love martial arts and boxing, and I love Long Island, so I thought this was an ideal way to combine my interests with doing some real good for my community,” Megibow said. “It’s been a great experience. The training was fantastic and I’m very glad we were able to raise a lot of money to help people.”
More than 1,200 attendees packed the ballroom at the Long Island Hilton and were treated to food and beverages donated by more than 35 local restaurants and wine and spirits companies. Over several months, the boxers raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, accomplishing their goals by hosting individual and team fundraisers across Long Island.
Sinai and the other boxers trained for months, at least twice a week to start, ramping up to almost every day in the final weeks leading up to the main event. In the process of training for their bouts, the boxers improved their physical stamina and, in total, lost hundreds of pounds. There is no other charity event like this anywhere in the country, where local business professionals raise money for charity and step into the boxing ring in front of a large crowd of friends and supporters.
“Stepping into the ring was one of the greatest experiences I had in my life. It feels amazing to both get in the greatest shape in my life and help local Long Islanders’ in need,” Mazza said.
Proceeds from Long Island Fight for Charity will be donated to The Long Island Community Chest, The Genesis School and the National Foundation for Human Potential. When the final tally is complete, the Long Island Fight for Charity will be over its $1 million goal.
Local businesses and professional firms sponsoring this year’s 12th Main Event include: Barnes Iaccarino & Shepherd LLP; Alure Home Improvements; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Fat Guy Media; Farrell Fritz; Saxena White P.A.; Local 1298; AmWINS Brokerage of NJ; Crystal & Company; RedTree Radiology; Local 60; Local 342, UMD, ILA; Carter, Deluca, Farrell & Schmidt LLP; Excavators Union Local 731; St. Hugh-St. Elizabeth Baseball League Inc.; Local 223; Jonis Realty; UPS Foundation Inc.; Francesco’s Bakery and L. Graziose Plumbing & Heating.
For more information about this event and to volunteer as a boxer for the 13th Long Island Fight for Charity, taking place on Nov. 20, 2016, visit www.lifightforcharity.org.
A memorial will rest on the pre-existing hill on the new Tom Cutinella Memorial Field. Photo from Ryan Ledda
Shoreham-Wading River High School’s “Tommy Tough” slogan is not only changing the culture of the Wildcats football team — it’s changing the community.
When Tom Cutinella passed away from an on-field collision last year, sophomore Ryan Ledda was right in the middle of thinking about what he should do for his Eagle Scout project. Ledda didn’t know Tom, but his sister Gabriella did, and after seeing how the loss affected her, coupled with what he saw during a Clemson University football game, his memorial idea was born.
“Before each game, the Clemson team comes onto the field touching a memorial called Howard’s Rock, and I figured I could do something similar to that,” Ryan Ledda said. “That the team could come out and touch the memorial for good luck before each home game. My goal is that everyone in the school could be connected to Tom without him being there. So no one will forget him.”
First, Ledda presented the idea to high school Principal Dan Holtzman, before going to the board of education.
“I thought it was an impressive one,” Holtzman said. “It was well-received by the board of education and they gave Ryan the go-ahead. I think it is a meaningful and thoughtful project and one that I hope encourages students at all grade levels to engage in community-oriented projects.”
Ryan Ledda, whose Eagle Scout project will raise money to fund a memorial in Tom Cutinella’s name. Photo from Ryan Ledda
The proposal was a 4- by 20-foot retaining wall on a pre-existing hill on the field that would have a concrete base with pavers stacked on top. In the middle will be a pedestal with a bronze bust of Cutinella. The bronze piece will be life size.
“I thought it was a very big project — I was very nervous,” Ledda’s mother Jennifer Ledda said. “I myself didn’t know the Cutinellas, but after Ryan went to the board and got approval I met Mrs. Cutinella. I found out how the boy was outstanding in every aspect of what he does. It reminded me of all of the kids who do good.”
According to Ryan Ledda, the project is estimated to cost $30,000-$40,000. The approval was quick by the board, but the approval by Boy Scout Troop 161 in Shoreham took longer.
“You need to fill out a long application and they send it back with improvements and revisions,” he said. “But they thought it was a great idea. A lot of the Eagle board members knew Tom’s family so they wanted to help out. Once they heard how much it was going to cost they got a little freaked out, but I told them how I was going to raise money and how important it was because of how Tom affected the community.”
To help fund the project, bricks are being sold that can be engraved, to rest atop the base. Smaller bricks cost $125, while larger ones cost $250.
“Those who went to school with him will always remember him, but kids to come that didn’t know him might not, so hopefully this can help them honor Tom,” Ledda said.
The sophomore created a website where the bricks can be purchased, and he handed out flyers in front of the school that were donated by a local printing company. To purchase a brick, go to www.bricksrus.com/order/bsatroop161. There is also a GoFundMe account raising funds for the base of the memorial and bronze statue.
The goal is to reach $20,000. Currently, 34 people have donated a combined $3,271 in the last month. Fourteen of those people have donated $54 or $154, representing Cutinella’s jersey No. 54. To donate to this project, go to www.gofundme.com/tomcmemorial.
For Shoreham-Wading River varsity football coach Matt Millheiser, he thinks all projects done in Cutinella’s name have been beneficial for the community.
“Outside of football, you see so many projects and so many things done — whether it’s a run or a blood drive or this Eagle Scout project — that are done in Tom’s name, he said. “It really shows the impact he had as a person and some of the good things that are being done by his friends and family and even people that didn’t know him, in the things they do throughout their lives. I think it is part of his long-standing effect.”
As for the memorial, the head coach knows it will only add to the field.
“I think it’s a great, worthy cause and idea — they’re all good things to remember their friend and brother who was lost,” Millheiser said. “‘Tommy Tough’ kind of changed the culture of Shoreham-Wading River football and the way the kids viewed how they went to work, how they practiced and how they prepared and how they carried themselves, and it really speaks to his legacy.”
Leon Klempner poses with Dunia Sibomana in front of the Christmas tree. Photo from Amy Epstein
The last two years have been rough for Dunia Sibomana, but now that he has been brought to the United States for reconstructive surgery, everything could change.
Since the 8-year-old was disfigured in a chimpanzee attack — the same one that killed his younger brother — he had stopped going to school because the other children in his native Congo ridiculed him. And being extremely poor, he came to America weighing only 40-something pounds, although the typical weight for a boy his age is almost double that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Above, Dunia Sibomana and park ranger Andre Bauma both give a thumbs-up for school. Photo from Amy Epstein
Despite all he has gone through, volunteers from the Smile Rescue Fund for Kids said Dunia is still a sweet kid.
That group, founded by Poquott resident Dr. Leon Klempner, who until recently was an orthodontist based in Port Jefferson, is hosting Dunia on Long Island and will care for him through a series of surgeries to reconstruct his lips and cheek.
Klempner started his nonprofit organization a few years ago to care for kids with severe facial deformities who are often ignored by similar groups that repair simpler issues like cleft lips.
Dunia lost both his lips and has scarring on his cheeks after the chimpanzee attack two years ago on the outskirts of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, near that country’s border with Uganda and Rwanda. While his father was working in the fields, he was playing with his friends and his 4-year-old brother, Klempner said. The chimps “killed and completely dismembered” the brother, but a ranger fortunately found Dunia and rushed him to the hospital.
“He refused to go to school after the injury because the kids were just ridiculing him too much,” the Poquott man said. “He lost most of his friends.”
Dunia Sibomana hugs Eian Crean while playing with Collin Crean. Photo from Amy Epstein
Smile Rescue Fund stepped in, bringing Dunia and that park ranger, Andre Bauma, stateside. Bauma was acting as a translator for Dunia, who only speaks Swahili, and helping him get settled with his Hauppauge host family, the Creans, but had to return to Congo last week.
Jennifer Crean said Dunia is getting along well with her three children, ages 10, 12 and 15.
“They have fun with him and he loves them,” she said. “So far so good.”
The family has taught him how to swing at the Hoyt Farm playground in Commack and taken him horseback riding, Crean said. Dunia has also played on an iPad, learned about Santa Claus and gone bowling.
“Everything for him is like brand new. It’s pretty cool.”
After the holidays, when things have slowed down, Crean said, the plan is to take him into New York City to see the big Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.
Dunia’s experiences here deeply contrast with his life back home — Klempner said the boy’s mother died when he was a toddler and his father is indigent, picking up work wherever he can, so they don’t have a home. And there’s not much food to go around.
Dunia Sibomana laughs with Grace Crean. Photo from Amy Epstein
At his temporary Hauppauge home, “He eats like a horse,” Klempner said. “He eats as much as Jenn’s teenage son.”
He’s also recently started instruction at Hauppauge’s Pines Elementary School, where he’s in the second grade. Klempner noted the biggest benefit of school is that Dunia is being reintegrated into a social setting, with kids who don’t mock him.
“They’ve been very warmly receiving him.”
He’s already picked up some English — Crean said with a laugh that “he knows the word ‘No’” — and has adapted to the new environment.
The surgeries begin in early January, when Dr. Alex Dagum will put three tissue expanders into his face, under the skin on his cheeks and chin. Over a few months, Dagum will slowly fill those with saline, expanding them and stretching the skin. Once there is enough excess skin created, the expanders will come out and that skin will be cut away and used to reconstruct the lips and cheek.
Stony Brook University Hospital, where Dagum is chief of plastic surgery, has donated the facility and medical staff’s time to operate on Dunia, and is even preparing special meals for him. In addition, Klempner said, “nurses volunteered to be dedicated nurses for him when he comes in for surgery so he sees the same faces.”
Dunia Sibomana meets Santa Claus. Photo from Amy Epstein
All of the work will add up to a new look for Dunia that will hopefully improve his quality of life at home in Congo when he is ready to return.
“He is sweet, and he is fun-loving; he’s got a sense of humor,” Klempner said. “He’s an 8-year-old kid that got a bad draw on life.”
Help needed Smile Rescue Fund for Kids is searching for a local volunteer who speaks Swahili to translate for Dunia while he is in the United States, as well as volunteers who will spend time with Dunia, as a way of helping out his hosts, the Crean family. Contact Leon Klempner at 631-974-7511 or [email protected]. For those who cannot volunteer but would like to help, Smile Rescue Fund accepts donations online, at www.smilerescuefund.org.
Ray Calabrese and Mayor Margot Garant smile with Thomas Jefferson. Photo by Elana Glowatz
Thomas Jefferson will watch over Village Hall visitors in the future, thanks to a donation from the Calabrese family.
“Much to my surprise, there’s nothing for the public viewing of anything of Thomas Jefferson — no statue, no bust, no painting,” Ray Calabrese said at the Port Jefferson Village Board of Trustees meeting Monday night. “So I decided to do something about it.”
To applause from the audience, he presented Mayor Margot Garant and the board with a painting of Jefferson, the original of which he said was done by Rembrandt Peale in 1805, halfway through the president’s tenure.
Garant said the portrait would hang above the stairs so that as people go between the first and second floors, “they’ll see Thomas.”
Coram resident Vincent James, right, poses for a photo with his family members at the Holiday Dream event in Coram. Photo by Giselle Barkley
For the past eight years, Rhonda Klch and her company Equity First have made many dreams come true.
This year is no different with Klch’s annual Holiday Dream event, which provides Christmas gifts for Long Island families in need. On Sunday, residents who registered for the event picked up their Christmas presents at the Coram Fire Department headquarters from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Klch, a Miller Place resident, and event volunteers upped the ante this year by getting gifts for around 250 families from Mount Sinai, Miller Place, Port Jefferson, Port Jefferson Station, Selden, Medford and other towns across the Island.
A little girl plays with a balloon during Rhonda Klch’s Holiday Dream event. Photo by Giselle Barkley
“These kids feel like they’re walking on a cloud,” said Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station), as several children ran around with balloons in the background after receiving their presents and meeting Santa.
Cartright was one of many people Klch called this year when searching for families in need of some holiday cheer. Local schools and churches were also contacted to find these families. While the families don’t need to be homeless to participate in the program, many of these families are financially unable to afford presents around the holidays.
People like Gordon Leonard of Selden said with the recession it’s harder to live on Long Island, making special seasons like the holidays more stressful.
“We came here because some Long Islanders understand the plight of many other Long Islanders, and they’re giving because they know people are struggling just to be New Yorkers,” he said. “We don’t want to leave. What choice do we have.”
While his son Devon received several gifts from the program this year, he said his favorite part about Sunday’s program was spending time with his family.
According to volunteer Priscilla Arena, of Mount Sinai, the event was a success this year.
“The outpour from the community has been tremendous and I’m hoping that it’ll only increase next year,” she said.
Last year, the event helped around 167 families. Arena got involved with the program around a month ago after Klch, a business associate and friend of hers, told her about the event. For Arena, helping the program and the families who benefit seemed natural.
For residents like Tiana Wyche, who lives in a shelter, Holiday Dream was important to bring joy to her children. Wyche is originally from Riverhead but currently resides in Port Jefferson Station.
Rhonda Klch, on right, poses for a photo with volunteer Priscilla Arena at the Holiday Dream event in Coram. Photo by Giselle Barkley
“Unfortunately, financial restrictions impact everybody and it becomes difficult over holidays,” Klch said. “I think people have this perception that just because you live somewhere, you’re doing very well. But unfortunately, people get so blind.”
Klch added that people don’t always realize how many families struggle to live on the Island, much less celebrate the holidays. She started spreading the word about the event among people in the business district. While Holiday Dream is the main event where children pick up their toys and have breakfast with Santa, there are toy drive events prior to Holiday Dream that Klch and her company host to raise more donations.
For Carmen Nunez and her family, who moved from the Dominican Republic to Port Jefferson Station, the program was extra special. Her family wasn’t used to getting presents around this time of year.
“I feel so happy,” she said. “Thank you to [Comsewogue ESL teacher Denise Saul] and everybody who tried to make [the children happy by giving them presents], especially this time for Christmas. It’s beautiful.”
While the family is trying to do the best they can here on Long Island, Saul said they are continuing the event’s mission of giving to others and spreading joy.
“Even though we gave them presents, they’re talking about who they can share [the presents with],” Saul said. “They are selfless themselves.”
According to Cartright, remembering the spirit of giving is important this time of year, and she hopes to keep giving in the future through the Holiday Dream program.
“A lot of community organizations and individuals come together to remind the kids that this is a season of giving,” Cartright said. “The holiday season is not only about receiving. They’re reaching hundreds of kids now, and I can only imagine as the years go by, how many kids we’re going to be changing their lives by letting them know they’re loved and supported by the community.”
Ann Becker and Edna Davis Giffen, Mount Sinai and Miller Place community members and historians, recently published a pictorial book showing past and present views of the area. Photo from Ann Becker
“I am one of those believers that if you don’t know your history, your life is not complete,” Miller Place-Mount Sinai Historical Society Archivist Edna Davis Giffen said. “I believe that you need to not just look forward, but you need to look backward to appreciate what was done before, so that you can carry on into the future.”
That’s why she and Mount Sinai Civic Association President Ann Becker decided to collaborate on a single book about the history of the neighboring hamlets that would serve as a continuation of both of the individual books they each previously published.
Becker published a book on the history of Mount Sinai in 2003, while Giffen completed one on Miller Place in 2010. Their latest effort is called “Miller Place and Mount Sinai Through Time” and was released in November.
“I’ve always had a love of history, especially local history,” Becker said. “There wasn’t a lot available for young students to learn about their local community, and the books were provided for the curriculum to look at the documented history of our community and help people understand the rich history here.”
Becker, who received a doctorate in American history from Stony Brook University, is a Long Island history professor at Empire State College who has lived in Mount Sinai since 1982, and has been a member of the civic on and off since 1984, becoming its president four years ago. She was involved in the creation of the Heritage Trust board that was instrumental in creating Mount Sinai Heritage Park.
Ann Becker and Edna Davis Giffen, Mount Sinai and Miller Place community members and historians, recently published a pictorial book, above, showing past and present views of the area. Photo from Ann Becker
“I love local history,” she said. “History has always been important to me. It’s nice for people to realize that there are dedicated volunteers working hard presently to maintain the quality of life here.”
Community members like Brad Arrington, the civic vice president and corresponding secretary, have noticed Becker’s passion.
“She’s very civic-oriented and I think that’s not a term that people really use or appreciate anymore, in the sense that she really wants to do the best she can for the Mount Sinai community,” he said. “All the work she does, including the book, shows how much she cares about the community and how much she wants to help preserve our heritage.”
He said being civic-minded shapes how she addresses local problems and informs her opinions about the future growth and development of the town.
“I think the book is wonderful,” he said. “I think particularly for folks that might not have lived in Mount Sinai for decades to see the character of Mount Sinai. It also helps show people what’s left from the past and can help galvanize community members to help preserve those pieces of history that remain in our community.”
Giffen, who is a 12th-generation Miller Place resident now living in Mount Sinai, has been a member of the historical society since 1980 and became president when the restoration of the William Miller House was first beginning in that decade.
“I enjoy being part of the history,” she said. “We’ve developed so much since the 1960s that people don’t realize how much country there was here.”
Sharing this information with residents was something that drove her to work on her books.
“It needed to be done,” she said. “Lots of people don’t know what this place was like before the major settlement. I thought it was quite interesting working on the books, because when you see [the area] every day, you don’t pay attention to how much has changed.”
Becker said with the new book, the idea is to have an old picture and a new one side-by-side, to compare what the area used to look like and what it is now.
“We had fun taking the pictures to compare to the old ones that we had in the archives,” Becker said. “It’s a new look at Mount Sinai and Miller Place through time. It gives you that historical context, but it’s bringing us up to modern time. We thought it was important for the community to understand that being involved can have some really good results.”
The two authors received information and pictures from various people to help construct the book and Ann Donato, who has been on the historical society board for 15 years, said the book holds substantial importance.
“This area is so rich in history, going back pre-Revolutionary War,” she said. “We really need to let people know our past so we can understand the present and also the travels that we have taken as a nation.”
She believes Giffen is important to the community as well.
“Edna is so knowledgeable,” she said. “If anyone ever calls me with a question about the area or about a house, Edna has it at the tip of her fingertips. Edna is a treasure to our society.”
Although the two are experts and important in preserving and spreading the history of the area, they do it simply because they believe it’s vital.
“People should know about where they live,” Giffen said. “Everything in the future is based on the past.”
Triple cancer survivor, veteran and volunteer firefighter seeks to give back to community
Albert Statton, above, stands in his gear as a Greenlawn firefighter. Photo from Statton
A Greenlawn volunteer firefighter, Army veteran and three-time cancer survivor has faced many battles in his life, but now he is fighting a different kind of battle.
Albert Statton, 64, created the Operation Enduring Care project at the Greenlawn Fire Department to collect food and clothing donations to help people who need immediate assistance and “offer them some type of comfort.” All of the donations collected will be given to The Salvation Army-managed homeless shelter at the Northport VA Affairs Medical Center.
Statton was drafted into the military in 1970 and served as a combat medic in Germany, Asia and across the United States. He finished his last tour of duty in the late 1990s but returned to his roots when he received treatment at the Northport VA after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2009. He found solace in dropping off items at the shelter on his way to chemotherapy.
“When being treated, it’s a physical and a mental battle,” Statton said in a phone interview. “I had highs and lows. I tried to make it a positive by bringing donations to shelter, so instead of going for me I was helping someone.”
He said the shelter for homeless veterans gets as many as 60 families a week that ask for assistance, especially during the holiday season.
Statton’s desire to help others is something he said he learned as a firefighter.
“You never say, ‘I was a firefighter.’ I am a firefighter and the things I have learned are ingrained in me forever.”
He said the volunteers at Greenlawn took his sick father to the hospital more than 20 times, so afterward he wanted to make a donation to the department to say thank you.
“I realized I didn’t have enough money to repay a debt like that,” Statton said. “I wanted to give back to the community the same way they did to my father.”
Statton served his community proudly until he was diagnosed with cancer.
He is impressed with the level of dedication all of the volunteers at Greenlawn bring to their work and how much they learned about the rescue system.
“So many people take the time to raise the bar on what’s available for the community,” Statton said.
He credits his cancer recovery to the members of the fire department for their inspiration and good wishes while he was sick, and their visits to his bedside at the hospital to pray with him.
One story in particular stands out in his mind: Statton, in the hospital, was once so battered by his treatment that he stopped breathing, and he found out later that at that same moment his comrades had begun a prayer group for him. He regained his ability to breathe minutes later.
“I had a very supportive network of brothers and sisters that encouraged me to persevere,” he said. “My respect and my love goes very deep for the fire department.”
Donations to support Statton’s effort to give back to local veterans can be dropped off at 23 Boulevard Ave. in Greenlawn. Statton said canned meats and vegetables are in high demand, as well as packaged undergarments and socks.
Long Island Bulldog Rescue founder Laurette Richin sits with Josie, the group’s mascot. Photo by Giselle Barkley
By Rita J. Egan
This past Monday, Beth Stern & Friends hosted the Bash for the Bulldogs at the Rosenthal Pavilion at New York University’s Kimmel Center. The event filled with food, music and raffles benefited the Long Island Bulldog Rescue located in Stony Brook.
The LIBR is the result of the love that Executive Director Laurette Richin has for the English bulldogs known for their stocky builds and wrinkled faces. Richin always wanted to learn more about the breed and, after divorcing her husband in the 90s, she decided to work with the dogs. She joined the Long Island Bulldog Club, but she said she soon realized she didn’t have what it takes to breed them. She explained that sometimes puppies could be lost during birth due to being delivered through C-sections.
Laurette Richin is all smiles with Josie, an American Bulldog. Photo by Giselle Barkley
When a member of the club asked her to stop by the Little Shelter Animal Rescue to check on a bulldog, it was the beginning of a new venture for Richin. She was told the dog that was brought in was very old, but as she looked at his teeth, she realized it was a puppy that was atrophied due to being in a crate all the time.
Richin said after she called the club representative to confirm that the dog was indeed a bulldog, she pulled out of the Little Shelter parking lot and couldn’t stop thinking of the puppy. She pulled back in and went right back into the shelter and took the dog home and nursed him back to health.
“I got hooked. It’s interesting, because you get to see something that is broken and needs you, and you fix them up, and they respond so beautifully. Then you find them a decent home,” Richin said.
That first rescue occurred 16 years ago in 1999, and while the group originally helped about 13 bulldogs in the local area during the first year, during the last decade and a half Richin along with LIBR volunteers have saved thousands of bulldogs and now serve nine states in the Northeast. Most of the dogs tend to be from Long Island and the five boroughs and almost 400 were saved in the last year alone.
The increase need of rescues is due to the growth of the bulldogs’ popularity over the years. The executive director said when she started in 1999, they ranked 46 nationwide in American Kennel Club registrations and now rank number 5 nationwide and 4 in large cities.
Richin said the dogs, which can cost upward to $3,000, are mild mannered and love attention. She said many apartment dwellers buy the dogs because they don’t need to run around regularly. However, because they require a good amount of attention, bulldogs aren’t ideal for those who are away from home for long hours. Richin added that the dogs also need special food to help avoid skin issues that can develop due to the way they have been bred.
The bulldogs that are rescued stay in foster homes before being adopted. Richin, who has two bulldogs of her own and one foster at any given time, which now is Josie the group’s mascot, said currently they have 32 dogs in foster homes waiting to be adopted. The executive director said the homes are a better setting than shelters to prepare dogs for their future families.
“It’s a much better way to get the dog into an environment where you actually know what their issues are, and you get to know them. If you have a dog in a shelter situation, you’re never going to know that the doorbell makes them crazy or that they like to eat couches. That’s stuff we find out in foster homes,” the executive director said.
Mia One-year-old Mia is waiting to be adopted. This little girl was rescued from a home in Queens where she was neglected and rarely went outside, even going to the bathroom solely on bathroom pads. Mia had an ingrown tail, which caused a horrible infection. While doctors have surgically corrected the tail, she remains in the hospital due to a torn cruciate ligament.
Wrinkles Wrinkles recently had a bit of a scare when he ate corn on the cob. His snack caused an obstruction, which his family could not afford to pay for; however, LIBR was contacted, and Wrinkles was brought to a local vet to remove the blockage. He is now in a foster home waiting for his forever home, preferably one with no young children since he has the potential to swallow small toys.
When it comes to placing the dogs, Richin said there isn’t a problem finding potential owners. For almost 400 dogs in the Northeast in a year, she can receive approximately 12,000 applications. She pointed out that not every home is suitable for the dogs, however. Before placing a dog, things to consider are if the particular bulldog is well suited for a home that may have children, especially young ones, or other dogs or cats, as each dog is different.
Richin said the group’s website and Facebook page have been valuable tools when it comes to finding new families, foster homes and volunteers, and the Facebook page especially has been helpful in sharing the dogs’ stories with the public.
A post that stands out for Richin is one where members driving in Lancaster, Pa., saw a bulldog tied to a pole along the highway with a big pink cardboard sign that said: “Free to a good home. Blind in one eye, can’t have puppies.” In an hour and a half, the executive director said a volunteer was there to rescue the dog. “Social media is extremely useful with this kind of organization,” she said.
The group has also used its Facebook page to educate bulldog lovers about the risks of buying a dog from a pet store or puppy mill. Recently, when a store-bought puppy developed pneumonia from a bug she caught at the establishment, LIBR shared the story on social media. The post encouraged others who had problems with pet stores, including the one the puppy came from, to share their experiences. The pet store paid for the veterinarian bill, which included the dog spending 18 days in oxygen. Unfortunately, the puppy died, leaving her owners heartbroken.
After another post, reporting how much veterinarian care would cost for one bulldog, a member commented he would match all donations. Richin was overwhelmed by the $4,000 check the man sent saying he was happy to do it because LIBR had helped him a few months earlier.
The organization also conducts programs at schools, fairs and shelter adoption events to help potential owners make informed decisions when it comes to buying or adopting a bulldog. The executive director said volunteers are also available to help bulldog owners with information regarding veterinarians, the proper food and care. For every bulldog they rescue there are three owners who need help caring for their pets, according to Richin. She said when volunteers help owners it’s primarily for the dog’s well-being, and they are nonjudgmental of the people.
Richin said she and volunteers understand that owners may encounter challenges and said they shouldn’t be hesitant to ask for help. “People feel lost. They have this initial loving feeling for the puppy, and then they’re like, well, what do I do now.”
LIBR is always looking for foster homes as well as volunteers not only to help with rescues but also with office work and publicity. For more information on how you can adopt or assist with rescues, fostering or even sponsoring a bulldog, visit www.longislandbulldogrescue.org or visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LongIslandBulldogRescue.
Congressman Steve Israel speaks on the dangers of hoverboards at the Commack Fire Department on Dec. 15. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
One of this year’s hot holiday items might be a little too hot.
Hoverboards have been flying off the shelves this holiday season, but recent safety issues, including multiple cases of boards catching fire or exploding, have given some shoppers pause. That’s why U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D) gathered with members of the Commack Fire Department Tuesday and urged consumers against buying hoverboards specifically made in China, because he said the type of batteries used in them may ignite.
“Hoverboards may be the hot holiday gift, but they are literally catching on fire and igniting questions about their safety and the safety of lithium-ion batteries,” Israel said. “New Yorkers should remain hesitant before purchasing these hoverboards and stay vigilant while using and charging them.”
Hoverboards are self-balancing and electronic two-wheeled devices on which people can travel from place to place. When riding one, a person may appear to be levitating, or hovering, similarly to those on the hoverboards featured in the film “Back to the Future II.”
Israel stood beside a photo display of several fires that the Commack department had already responded to where hoverboards caused combustion inside someone’s home, destroying property and, sometimes, entire rooms.
Hoverboards shipped from overseas use lithium ion batteries, which can combust if heated or overcharged due to their limited voltage range. Israel called for more research from the U.S. Department of Energy on the safety of using lithium ion batteries in hoverboards.
The congressman also noted that airports already task their security personnel to remove all lithium ion batteries from checked bags for the same reason.
“Well if we know that those lithium ion batteries could be a hazard to the plane, and we know a hover board with a lithium ion battery could be hazardous to our homes, that says we need to do a little bit more research,” Israel said.
Commack Fire Marshal Joe Digiose flanked the congressman on Tuesday and said he urged residents to be careful when buying hoverboards until more research is completed. He said there is no research that shows the American-made products are not working well, but the ones from overseas pose more of a danger and are being shipped at a very high rate to the United States.
“We recommend you don’t buy them but if you do, buy an American-made one,” he said.
Don Talka speaks on research of lithium ion batteries at the Commack Fire Department on Dec. 15. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
Don Talka, senior vice president and chief engineer at Underwriters Laboratories has been involved in research on lithium ion batteries for years, starting back when they were involved with similar issues in laptops. He said the major problem is the mating of the battery with the rest of the electronics used in the hoverboards.
“What we’ve learned through our research … is that the combination and how these pieces interact causes the issues,” Talka said. “And how the batteries are charged and discharged are all items which need further investigation.”
At the press conference, Israel inspected the box that a hoverboard came in, and said that despite all the instructions and caution labels about the product, there is nothing to be said about the battery.
“That has been established as one of the single greatest threats to property and potentially lives when they’re coming from China,” Israel said. “That’s why we want to comply with the energy chair to fully research this and make sure that people aren’t being exposed to greater risk and threat by lithium ion batteries.”
The surgeries begin in early January, when Dr. Alex Dagum will put three tissue expanders into his face, under the skin on his cheeks and chin. Over a few months, Dagum will slowly fill those with saline, expanding them and stretching the skin. Once there is enough excess skin created, the expanders will come out and that skin will be cut away and used to reconstruct the lips and cheek.
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