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Donation spurs Bark Park improvements
Bob Mock, right, and Wendy Bolton
Bob Mock, right, and Wendy Bolton at Tuesday’s ground breaking for Bark Park improvements. Photo by Jeff Whitten.

WATCH A VIDEO of the ceremony..

Bryan County’s Bark Park will soon have a new entry way and dog wash station, thanks to a generous donation made Tuesday by Richmond Hill philanthropist Bob Mock.

Mock and his wife Charlotte donated $35,000 to the park, with Mock handing Bark Park volunteer Wendy Bolton the check in a plain white envelope with the name “Samson,” written on it.

“I put the dog’s name Samson on it and I wish my wife could be here with me,” Mock said. “She found the dog on Harris Trail, and said he was walking in the center of the road and wouldn’t get out of the road, so she got out of the car to move him out of the way and couldn’t get him to move. When she got back in the car the dog jumped in the car with her.”

Samson wound up living with the family for 12 years.

The Mocks’ donation will allow for upgrades to the 5-year-old park handled by local contractor Ted Flake.

The park averages about 1,000 visitors a month, according to Bolton.

The improvements will include a stainless steel washing station for pets.

“All of this would not have been possible were it not for (Mock) and his lovely wife,” Bolton said during the groundbreaking. “Bob and Charlotte Mock have the biggest hearts and are so incredibly generous, and we’re lucky they’re members of our community.”

She added, “and those of us who love dogs are particularly lucky dogs are very near and dear to their hearts.”

Mock, a self-made millionaire in his 80s, is a story in his own right.

He has donated more than $3 million to good causes through various means, and the recipients including his church, St.

Elizabeth’s, animals and the homeless. He said his plan is to give his fortune away to the needy, in ways in which the gifts won’t be squandered.

Last year, Mock, who initially wanted anonymity, said “you start with nothing, you build a lot, but when you leave it’s all gone. So you should give it away.”

He credits financial advisor Laura Evans for helping him set up the donations so the money won’t be wasted.

Tuesday, Mock said he was “talking to a friend of mine who said, Bob, when you leave this world how would you like to do it. I said I’d like to do it broke. I’d like have given everything I have away and die broke.

And that’s it.”

Then, he turned to Bolton, who was standing next to him, and deadpanned while handing her the check: “Wendy, you’re helping me do it.”

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