DELMAR, Del. - If you've ever stopped by the Wicomico County Humane Society, you've likely come across Steve Franklin.
Steve and his wife Judy are devoted dog lovers. Besides having five dogs themselves, Steve spends a fair amount of time at the Wicomico County Humane Society.
After he was attacked Sunday morning at his home in Delmar, he made sure to let the Humane Society know he would not be available to volunteer Monday.
"We got a phone call and find out that was actually Steve," Kim Knock, Director of the Wicomico County Humane Society, says about Sunday's incident, "the way we found out is because he called to say he wouldn't be able to come in on Monday to help walk dogs."
Steve's dedication to the Humane Society inspired the organization to create a GoFundMe to offset medical costs, says Knock. "We feel like it's going to be a long recovery. We know that his wife is going to have a long recovery as well and we want him to be able to concentrate on getting better himself and helping his wife get better. So, of course we're going to do a GoFundMe for him," Knock explains.
Neighbors who live in Yorkshire Estates near the Franklins, like Terry Gakidja, say they are "known by everyone in the development."
"They walk their five dogs together every morning and when I'm out here, she'll stop and we'll talk," says Gakidja, "he stops at everybody...They are a lovely couple. Friendly. They never not talk to you when you go past. And they never not stop when they see my door open."
The GoFundMe originally had a goal of $1,000. As of Monday evening, it has surpassed that amount with over $10,000 raised.
If you would like to donate, the link is below:
Knock says Steve and Judy are expected to be released from the hospital sometime this week.
Delaware State Police have arrested 30-year-old Randon D. Wilkerson in connection with a pair of assaults that left a Delmar police officer and an elderly couple injured early Sunday in the Yorkshire Estates subdivision in Delmar.
Public Information Officer Master Cpl. Gary Fournier and Delmar Police Chief Ivan Barkley said that at around 5:15 a.m. Sunday, April 25, Cpl. Keith Heacook responded to a 9-1-1 call about a fight in progress to the 11000 block of Buckingham Drive near the Wawa convenience store.
The 9-1-1 caller reported that one of the occupants, who was later identified as Randon Wilkerson, was being disorderly, fighting with other people in the house, and destroying items inside the home.
Delaware State Police are continuing the investigation into both events and is working collaboratively with the Delmar Police Department, the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office, Maryland State Police, and all other involved agencies.