Middletown police investigated the theft, and residents searched every antique store, every city park from here to California, but all leads turned up nothing — like a dog chasing its tail. The funeral home known for its dog had lost its identity.
Until now. Some 32 years later.
A replica of that original dog statue has been molded and soon, it will be back in its rightful place, watching over Breitenbach-McCoy-Leffler Funeral Home, 517 S. Sutphin St.
Since the Anderson family, which operated funeral homes in Franklin and Springboro, purchased the Middletown funeral home in December 2013, it has made extensive renovations to the interior of the property, said Rebekah Anderson Giuffre, funeral director. Those who have toured the facility have been impressed by the improvements, she said.
Still one thing was missing. You can’t operate a McDonald’s without Golden Arches and, apparently, this funeral home without its watch dog.
At the time of the theft, funeral home owner Bob Breitenbach noted: “Middletown’s lost something, a historical landmark. Daily we’ve had people come in here in their 50s, 60s and 70s and make the comment that they remember seeing him when they played in the neighborhood. He’s just always been there.”
After meeting with staff, one resident said the funeral home “would be perfect if the dog was back,” Anderson Giuffre said.
She expects the dog to arrive from the factory this week, then it will be toured around the city, stopping at the Middletown Senior Citizens Center and area nursing homes. She wants those who remember the dog the most, to see its replica without having to drive to the funeral home. She hopes to collect residents’ remembrances of the statue.
When the family purchased the funeral home, Anderson Giuffre said about 70 percent of the people who called, asked the same question: “Are you going to bring the dog back?”
The family, of course, had no idea what they were asking. But after researching the theft of the dog, the family realized the significance of the statue that was made of zinc and estimated to be nearly 100 years old.
Earlene Smith, 54, was one of those people. As a young girl growing up in Lebanon, her family drove to downtown Middletown to buy her a new school coat every year at the Central Store. The trip wasn’t complete until the family drove by the funeral home.
“It really was a landmark in front of the funeral home,” said Smith, who has served as secretary at the funeral home since 1995. “I knew it as the funeral home with the dog in front.”
Originally founded in 1849, the funeral home began as a combined furniture store and undertaking business for Godfrey Rathman. His son, Emil, continued the business after Rathman died. Walter Newton McCoy joined the firm in 1907. The business was renamed Rathman McCoy in 1912, and then became McCoy Funeral Home in 1923. Homer D. Leffler joined McCoy in 1959, and then he became owner in 1959 when McCoy retired.
Leffler built the current location at the corner of Sutphin Street and Woodlawn Avenue. When he acquired the land for the home, he also got the statue of the dog that had resided on that land since 1875 when Daniel McCalley purchased the statue from J. W. Fiske Co. of New York for his front lawn.
The McCalley family gave the dog to the Margerum family, who gave the dog to Leffler.
Anderson Giuffre said the dog was named “Fido,” though no one called him that.
He was simply known as The Dog.
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