Cassie gets a wheel surprise after bike is stolen
Town resident replaces 12-yearold’s stolen bike
CALEDONIA — Lisa Sauve wasn’t sure where she’d come up with the $200 reward, but she knew she had to try.
Around Canada Day, her 12year-old daughter Cassie’s bike was stolen from their property.
It had been bought with some of the inheritance Lisa had gotten after her mom had passed away, giving it sentimental value.
“I loved that bike. It was my first big-girl bike,” Cassie said.
“We’re living paycheque to paycheque, like most people do,” Lisa said. “When a bike goes missing, I can’t just replace it.”
Not knowing what else to do, Lisa posted a picture of the bike with a request for it to be returned on the “What’s Up Caledonia?” Facebook group and hoped that someone would be able to help them.
Help came, but not in the way they were expecting.
When Russ Savage was eight, someone stole his BMX bike on Christmas Day, so he knew firsthand how Cassie felt.
He saw the post and, “I looked at my wife and was like, ‘Someone stole this kid’s bike, can we just buy her a new one?’”
The father of two reached out to Lisa, and two days later he and his family were delivering a brand new bike to Cassie.
“We kept it a surprise,” said Lisa, who posted a video of Cassie getting the new bike on Facebook. “He showed up, and the first thing I did was hug him.”
“It was just a shocker to me; it was awesome,” Cassie said. “You don’t really see that too often, that much kindness.”
Lisa said that their family is very active — camping, hiking, and especially biking.
“It’s more than a bike. It’s what we live for in the summer,” she said.
“He gave us back our family time.”
That wasn’t the end of the community’s outpouring of support.
Brian Dixon of Dixon Cycle in Caledonia also contacted Lisa and offered to tune Cassie’s new bike for her for free.
Savage is nonchalant about his role.
“It’s not what you take; it’s what you give back,” he said.
“All I did was buy a kid a bike … Kids shouldn’t go without a bike in the summertime.”
He said that some people have approached him and offered to contribute to the cost of Cassie’s new bike.
Instead, he’s asking anyone who wants to pitch in to contribute to the Christmas dinners that he and his wife have provided for the last few years to people in need through the Jarvis Caring Cupboard.
“They’re more than welcome to put in a donation,” he said.
Savage can be reached through Landscapesbyruss.com or by calling his office at 905-971-0286.