Anderson Restores, Donates Safe to Animal Shelter

In Director Laura Selvaggio Burban's office sits an old-school black safe with "Cosgrove Animal Shelter" painted in gold on its door. It may look like it came with the place, but if not for Branford's Skip Anderson, it wouldn't be there at all.

About eight weeks ago, Skip, proprietor of Branford's Piks Locks ("Piks" is Skip spelled backward), drove up to the shelter, followed by a pay loader from the neighboring transfer station. The pay loader hoisted a steel-clad, concrete-filled safe from Skip's vehicle. Skip then rolled the beautifully restored York safe (valued at $1,500) inside and donated it to the shelter.

Burban first contacted Skip about a year and a half ago, seeking safe prices.

"I called Skip because I knew the guys at the transfer station and when I told them I was looking for any type of safe, big or small, they said I should give Skip a call."

Skip, who knows safes can cost a pretty penny, started formulating a plan to find one he could donate.

"They have no money. I'd rather see them buy cat food and dog food," says Skip, who adopted his cats Trevor and Peeps from the shelter.

Months after that call, a friend of Skip's, Marty Hallier, discovered a locked safe stowed beneath a staircase in a New Haven home he was clearing and called Skip. The 1930s-era safe once belonged to a New Haven-area business owner, says Skip.

"The first thing we had to do was get it open," says Skip, who called on his mentor Joe Zurkus, former owner of Accu-Lock & Safe of Branford and JZ Lock & Security of Branford and East Haven.

"I worked with Joe for 17 years. He taught me quite a bit and sent me to Safe School," says Skip.

Skip, who grew up in Indian Neck (Branford High School Class of '77) and resides in Short Beach, started his own business here in 1998 after the devastating Castellon's Bakery fire in late 1997 also destroyed the

Accu-Lock & Safe building. Zurkus, who followed his father into the business, decided not to re-open after the fire.

"I always knew I'd go on my own eventually. The fire just pushed me along," says Skip, recalling that memorable night. "I had come back from opening a car in the center of town. I went back to the store and saw smoke on the floor. I was one of the first three people to call the fire department."

Today, Skip services commercial, residential, and marine lock needs. He's made a lot of friends and business acquaintances in his years as a Branford locksmith and thanks lifelong friend Hallier for giving him the safe to donate as well as Zurkus for his advice in "where to start drilling" to get it open.

Skip put drill to steel at just the right angle against the exterior dial, then manipulated the dial and popped open the door.

"It looked like it hadn't been opened in 40 years. We found one butterfly paper clip inside."

Skip reset the combination and spent about 20 hours cleaning up and restoring the safe. Next, the phone rang at Cosgrove Animal Shelter.

"He called and said he needed to donate a safe," says Burban. "I hadn't thought about it for a year and a half! I had no idea of the extent of work he'd put in. When I saw it, it was so nice. His friend explained Skip wanted to make it beautiful."

Skip says he's just glad he found a safe he could fix up and donate to a good cause.

"It took a year and a half to find this one. Once we got it open, I knew what home it needed."