8 EAST COUNTY OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 YourObserver.com EAST COUNTY Observer “If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only Seeing eye to eye truly progressive policy.” Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944 Service dogs helped Editor / CEO / Matt Walsh [email protected] guide Don Olinger Publisher / Lisa Walsh [email protected] and Tracy Rhodes Chief Digital Officer / Emily Walsh [email protected] to independent living Associate Publisher- East County Observer / Lori Ruth and a lasting friendship. [email protected] Executive Editor / Kat Hughes [email protected] Deputy Executive Editor / Jessica Luck JESSICA SALMOND [email protected] STAFF WRITER Managing Editor / Robin Hartill [email protected] on Olinger can see Senior Editor / Pam Eubanks peripherally, but the cen- [email protected] ter of his vision is gone Sports Editor / Jen Blanco because of Stargardt’s [email protected] disease, a hereditary dis- Staff Writers / Dorder that causes macular degen- Jessica Salmond, [email protected] Amanda Sebastiano, eration in the central portion of [email protected] the retina. Digital Editor / Alex Mahadevan His close friend and roommate, [email protected] Tracy Rhodes, has the opposite Managing Editor/Black Tie-Season / problem: She has retinitis pig- Stephanie Hannum, [email protected] mentosa. Essentially, she has Black Tie Editor / Heather Merriman Saba tunnel vision. She can see what’s [email protected] directly in front of her but noth- Arts & Culture Editor / Nick Reichert ing to the side. [email protected] “We joked, we can drive,” she Managing Editor/Design / Nancy Schwartz said. “Between the two of us, we [email protected] Design Editor / Nicole Thompson Photos by Jessica Salmond have perfect vision.” [email protected] Their complementary blind- Don Olinger and Tracy Rhodes moved into their two-bedroom apartment in May with dogs Ralphie Editorial Designer / Qing Tian ness gives them a symbiotic and Gary. [email protected] relationship, Olinger said. They Director of Advertising / Jill Raleigh grocery shop together, help each [email protected] other with mail and even picked Olinger was paired with Ral- Olinger and Rhodes stayed in PRIME Sales Manager / Penny DiGregorio out a TV from Best Buy that they phie — a Labrador retriever with contact even after they returned PAIRING [email protected] would both be able to see. a rare tri-color coat similar to a to Fort Myers and North Carolina, Digital Sales and Business Development Their independent lifestyle Rottweiler’s. respectively. Palmetto-based Manager / Kathleen O’Hara, [email protected] is possible because of Gary and “They said, ‘We couldn’t get They always joked about being Southeastern Guide Senior Advertising Executive / Ralphie, their guide dogs who live you a Rott. This is as close as we roommates, Rhodes said, but Dogs has graduated Laura Ritter, [email protected] 236 classes of dogs with them at The Tuscany. could get,’” Olinger said. those talks turned serious. Advertising Executives / Olinger, 64, and Rhodes, 48, Rhodes told staff she didn’t When Olinger decided to try and people as of July Patty Ordonez-Bains, [email protected] met in 2013 during the 26-day want a golden retriever because of living truly independently and 16. Every year, the or- Beth Jacobson, [email protected] Southeastern Guide Dogs train- a single previous encounter with Rhodes’ last child moved out, they ganization starts with Robert Lewis, [email protected] ing class, which teaches partici- the breed. Still, the organization decided to do it: They moved into about 250 puppies— Rachel Livingston, [email protected] labs, golden retrievers Suzanne Munroe, [email protected] pants how to work with and care paired her with Gary, an English an apartment together in May. Richeal Parisi, [email protected] for their new guide dogs. cream-colored golden retriever, “I left North Carolina with a and goldadors, a mix Toni Perren, [email protected] Both were looking for under- asking that she give him a try for backpack, a suitcase and Gary. of the two, that train Mike Petruzzi, [email protected] standing and freedom. Rhodes 48 hours. Twenty-nine hours later, I was for two years. About Sales Operations Manager / had been homebound for 10 years “He sat down, looked up at me, starting a new life here,” Rhodes 40% of the puppies Susan Leedom, [email protected] in North Carolina as her eyesight and I looked at him, and I said, said. become guide dogs Sales Coordinator/Account Manager slowly deteriorated; Olinger’s ‘Well, you’re cute,’” Rhodes said. Now, thanks to their dogs — and based on their physi- Lori Downey, [email protected] vision was declining and he had Gary officially won Rhodes over the support of each other — the cal traits, personality Classified Advertising Sales Executives/ and demeanor; the Maureen Hird, [email protected] gone through a divorce when the next morning, when she woke two friends are branching out. Deedie Parker, [email protected] he moved to Florida and began up and saw him lying on his back, Olinger does volunteer work for remainder are “career residing in an independent-living feet splayed out and tongue dan- Southeastern and speaks about changed” into differ- Director of Creative Services and Information Technology / Kathy Payne facility in Fort Myers. gling, waiting for her. the nonprofit and his condition to ent kinds of therapy [email protected] For both Olinger and Rhodes, it In addition to building their other organizations and schools. or become breeders Creative Services Assistant Manager / was the first time they had been working relationship with their As a retired minister, public for future guide dogs. Brooke Schultheis, [email protected] paired with a guide dog. dogs over the 26 days, Olinger and speaking comes easy to him. But In its 33-year history, Information Technology Operations Manager Before pairing an individual Rhodes developed a friendship. Ralphie has taken on a new unof- Southeastern Guide / Mike Herndon with a dog, Southeastern Gude They became the comedic relief ficial role: timekeeper. If Olinger Dogs has paired more Advertising Graphic Designers / than 3,000 dogs with Chris Brock, John Day, Marjorie Holloway, Dog staff interviews him or her to of their eight-student class, using speaks longer than 15 minutes, Shawna Polana, Luis Trujillo, Allison Wampole determine what type of dog will jokes to ease their anxiety about Ralphie lets out a long, bored people. Chief Financial Officer / Laura Keisacker suit them in a process Olinger getting their animals. moan. One time, he even picked [email protected] compares to a dating service. “The dogs already know up his own leash and walked to Office Coordinator-Subscriptions / Staffers asked him what kind 40-plus commands,” said the door. Donna Condon, [email protected] of dog he wanted. He said a Rott- Rhodes. “I worried, what if I break Olinger also saved enough weiler. this dog?” to make a $5,000 donation to Southeastern to name a dog. He chose the name Skylar in honor Observer Media Group Inc. of his niece, who was 7 when she is locally owned. started researching guide dogs to Publishers of the help her Uncle Don. Longboat Observer, Rhodes started working East County Observer, Palm Coast Observer, part-time for Southeastern on Sarasota Observer, Wednesday — her first job in 10 Siesta Key Observer, years. She’s ecstatic to work for Plant City Times & Observer, the organization that changed her Ormond Beach Observer, life, she said. West Orange Times & Observer, “I feel smart, capable and alive Business Observer, again,” she said. LWR Life Magazine and Season Magazine Chairman / David Beliles Editor and CEO / Matt Walsh Vice President / Lisa Walsh “I’m excited at being the person who gets 8126 Lakewood Main St., Suite 204 Lakewood Ranch, Fla. 34202 to greet people to Southeastern Guide Dogs. 941/755-5357 I feel smart, capable and alive again.” YourObserver.com Ralphie sticks close to owner Don Olinger. – Tracy Rhodes.