Mark Thornsbrough used to run marathons and bike for miles. Then detached retinas caused the Lakewood Ranch resident to lose most of his sight between 2021 and 2023. He retains only a small amount of light perception in one eye.

"Everything came to a screeching halt," Thornsbrough told WFLA in a story published Thursday, Aug. 27. "… I was depressed; I was angry; I was withdrawn."

He stopped leaving the house.

A neighbor suggested he look into a guide dog. That application led him to Dogs Inc., a Palmetto-based nonprofit formerly known as Southeastern Guide Dogs that provides trained guide, service and therapy dogs at no cost to recipients. A guide dog obtained privately can cost more than $60,000, according to Sarasota Magazine.

Thornsbrough was matched with Grace, a dog raised from nine weeks old to 17 months by volunteer puppy raiser Missy Wise and her daughter Maiya.

The match changed Thornsbrough's life. He and Grace now walk five to seven miles a day. He has run a 5K with her. He and his wife are traveling again.

Thornsbrough said he wouldn't trade Grace even if he could get his vision back.

Wise said hearing that stunned her. "That was impactful for me, I've never heard him say that," she told WFLA.

The bond came full circle Thursday at Dogs Inc.'s commencement ceremony, where Thornsbrough brought Grace back to reunite with the Wise family, WWSB reported. The ceremony celebrated dogs and the volunteers who prepared them for placement.

Dogs Inc. was founded in 1982 and changed its name from Southeastern Guide Dogs in May 2024. The nonprofit oversees more than 1,200 puppies and dogs on its 66-acre campus at 4210 77th St. East in Palmetto. It takes about two years from puppyhood to placement for each guide dog.

Thornsbrough said he now wants to advocate for Dogs Inc. and for others living with vision loss. "My purpose is that I want to give back," he said.

More information about Dogs Inc. is available at DogsInc.org.