Longboat congregations' guide dog finds a home

Two years ago, Dwayne Cole lost his peripheral vision to a stroke. Left alone, with his confidence shattered, Cole wasn’t sure where to turn.

That’s when Sandy, a black Labrador retriever, came into his life, thanks to a collection of Longboat Key area churches.

“She gave me my freedom back, that’s true, because I was afraid to walk out of the house,” Cole said of Sandy.

With his new companion alongside, Cole reconnected with family and moved from Ocala to South Daytona Beach.

“. . . It was a way, as a
community of faith, to address a need in a tangible way, you know, [that] reflects our values to help others.”

 

— Rabbi Jonathan Katz

Sandy, who was born at Southeastern Guide Dogs, was sponsored by the Longboat Key and St. Armands Key congregations of St. Armands Key Lutheran Church, All Angels by the Sea Episcopal Church, Longboat Island Chapel, St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Catholic Church, Christ Church, Presbyterian of Longboat Key and Temple Beth Israel.

“I thought it was a way, as a community of faith, to address a need in a tangible way, you know, [that] reflects our values to help others,” Rabbi Jonathan Katz, the former rabbi of Temple Beth Israel, said.

Southeastern Guide Dogs is a nonprofit that trains dogs for veterans and people who are blind. The organization raises about 250 puppies a year, though not all graduate to become guide dogs.

For Katz, the sponsorship was a learning experience. He calls it an education because he learned about different conditions that cause people to lose their vision. Sponsors are also given an inside look at how the puppies are raised.

“What I think is a blessing, not only about the service they provide, it is the opportunity when you sponsor a dog to gain a greater appreciation of so many aspects associated with a guide dog,” he said.

Larissa Daigle, a director of philanthropy for Southeastern Guide Dogs, said it’s rare for so many organizations to come together in a sponsorship. Another similar instance is continuous sponsorship from the Interfaith Council of Sun City Center, but the Longboat congregations are separate entities.

The sponsorship, which cost $5,000, allowed the congregations to name Sandy. The church groups get continual updates on her progress with Cole.

For a year, Sandy lived with Southeastern Guide Dogs puppy raisers Joyce and Ron Landbeck. Ron Landbeck said that as a Christian, he must serve the Lord in some way. After a medical setback prohibited him from continuing volunteering in Ukraine and Russia, he attended a Lions Club meeting and heard about Southeastern Guide Dogs.

The Landbecks raised their first guide dog, Yaz, in 2011. Sandy is their eighth.

“From day one, her temperament and desire to please, her general sociability ... the dog knows no strangers, only friends she hasn’t met yet,” Landbeck said.

Katz, who attended Sandy’s graduation, felt proud when the speaker called the dog a “rock star.” He hopes other organizations and congregations consider sponsoring a dog. Aside from learning about the facility, he said you get to experience the process, which he calls inspiring.

“It would help develop a sense of community in the knowledge that they’ve come together and made this tangible difference in a person’s life, and then they would be exposed to what is happening in Palmetto that is really having a national impact,” he said.