Laura
05-22-2010, 09:13 AM
from the NY Times:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/ruger-guide-and-beloved-companion-is-mourned/
May 20, 2010, 4:08 pm
Ruger, Guide and Beloved Companion, Is Mourned
By BAO ONG
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/05/20/nyregion/20ruger-cityroom/20ruger-cityroom-articleInline.jpg
Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
Ruger at his retirement party in 2008.For nearly a decade, a fun-loving and energetic yellow Lab named Ruger stood dutifully at Kevin Coughlin’s side as the two championed the rights of guide dogs in New York.
Ruger was Exhibit A when Mr. Coughlin, 48, undertook several high-profile cases against businesses in the city that to refused to open their doors to guide dogs, as they are required to do by law. Mr. Coughlin twice filed complaints against the Taxi and Limousine Commission for refusing Ruger a ride, and in 2002, filed a discrimination complaint against a coffee shop owner for throwing his dog out (the owner eventually paid a $1,000 fine).
On Wednesday, Ruger died of natural causes at the age of 13. He had been living in retirement since 2008 in Warwick, N.Y.
Mr. Coughlin, who became blind in 1997 as a result of a genetic condition, mourned the loss of his longtime companion. “After losing my vision, I truly felt like I wasn’t going to experience joy again,” he said Thursday. “But Ruger was just so full of joy. It was this in-your-face, all encompassing feeling. That was the biggest gift. He allowed me once again to experience joy.”
Ruger became a celebrity when national news media followed Mr. Coughlin’s story. People would stop the two on the streets and subway to introduce themselves, said Adam E. B. Brecht, a close friend of Mr. Coughlin’s.
Mr. Coughlin, who lives in Murray Hill, and those who knew Ruger described him as a serene dog. In 2004, Ruger had a cancerous tumor removed from his leg and was out of commission for nearly eight months. He rebounded and worked for several more years.
Ruger also loved to eat. He often took a detour to Imperial Pizza on Third Avenue, where workers fed him scraps. Mr. Brecht recalled how Ruger, who weighed nearly 75 pounds, licked a small child’s ice cream cone while walking down the street. (The boy found it amusing, but his father was upset.) When the threesome dined at the Four Seasons, the staff fell in love with Ruger. Unsolicited, a server brought him some bread doused in duck gravy, which Ruger devoured.
When Ruger flew with Mr. Coughlin, they typically went first class, so both could stretch out comfortably.
“Ruger was more than a pet,” Mr. Brecht said. “He was Kevin’s eyes.”
Mr. Coughlin held a retirement party — a farewell party, really — for Ruger in 2008 and has not seen Ruger since then (it was just too emotionally difficult, he said). He has been working with a black Lab named Elias, but Mr. Coughlin’s e-mail handle remains “misterruger.”
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/ruger-guide-and-beloved-companion-is-mourned/
May 20, 2010, 4:08 pm
Ruger, Guide and Beloved Companion, Is Mourned
By BAO ONG
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/05/20/nyregion/20ruger-cityroom/20ruger-cityroom-articleInline.jpg
Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
Ruger at his retirement party in 2008.For nearly a decade, a fun-loving and energetic yellow Lab named Ruger stood dutifully at Kevin Coughlin’s side as the two championed the rights of guide dogs in New York.
Ruger was Exhibit A when Mr. Coughlin, 48, undertook several high-profile cases against businesses in the city that to refused to open their doors to guide dogs, as they are required to do by law. Mr. Coughlin twice filed complaints against the Taxi and Limousine Commission for refusing Ruger a ride, and in 2002, filed a discrimination complaint against a coffee shop owner for throwing his dog out (the owner eventually paid a $1,000 fine).
On Wednesday, Ruger died of natural causes at the age of 13. He had been living in retirement since 2008 in Warwick, N.Y.
Mr. Coughlin, who became blind in 1997 as a result of a genetic condition, mourned the loss of his longtime companion. “After losing my vision, I truly felt like I wasn’t going to experience joy again,” he said Thursday. “But Ruger was just so full of joy. It was this in-your-face, all encompassing feeling. That was the biggest gift. He allowed me once again to experience joy.”
Ruger became a celebrity when national news media followed Mr. Coughlin’s story. People would stop the two on the streets and subway to introduce themselves, said Adam E. B. Brecht, a close friend of Mr. Coughlin’s.
Mr. Coughlin, who lives in Murray Hill, and those who knew Ruger described him as a serene dog. In 2004, Ruger had a cancerous tumor removed from his leg and was out of commission for nearly eight months. He rebounded and worked for several more years.
Ruger also loved to eat. He often took a detour to Imperial Pizza on Third Avenue, where workers fed him scraps. Mr. Brecht recalled how Ruger, who weighed nearly 75 pounds, licked a small child’s ice cream cone while walking down the street. (The boy found it amusing, but his father was upset.) When the threesome dined at the Four Seasons, the staff fell in love with Ruger. Unsolicited, a server brought him some bread doused in duck gravy, which Ruger devoured.
When Ruger flew with Mr. Coughlin, they typically went first class, so both could stretch out comfortably.
“Ruger was more than a pet,” Mr. Brecht said. “He was Kevin’s eyes.”
Mr. Coughlin held a retirement party — a farewell party, really — for Ruger in 2008 and has not seen Ruger since then (it was just too emotionally difficult, he said). He has been working with a black Lab named Elias, but Mr. Coughlin’s e-mail handle remains “misterruger.”