The estate of the late Helen and Murray Main, longtime Mathews property owners, has left a major bequest to a national organization that trains service dogs for children and adults with disabilities and for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to court records, the Helen and Murray Main Foundation left 220 acres on John Clayton Memorial Highway, assessed at $1.9 million, to Canine Companions for Independence Inc. The California-based organization has chapters in 31 states and six training centers nationwide, including one each in New York and Florida.
Debra Dougherty, Northeast Region Director for Canine Companions, said the gift is a “very significant and generous donation” for the organization.
Canine Companions has a lot of volunteers in the Hampton Roads area, said Dougherty, and they’re expected to go up to Long Island for training. She said she and others have been looking at ways to expand Canine Companions’ physical footprint to this area, and the property in...