A legally blind

Orange County man finds himself without his independence after his guide dog is killed in a hit-and-run.

Pearl was Raymond Mahlberg’s link to autonomy.

The 6-year-old guide dog helped Mahlberg, an Orange County resident who is legally blind but has partial vision, navigate bus routes, sidewalks and Universal Orlando, where employees kept Pearl company while he went on rides.

“She’s my independence,” Mahlberg, 60, said Friday.

On Thursday evening, he and Pearl were walking out of their neighborhood onto Harrell Road, near the intersection of Colonial Drive and State Road 417, when a silver car hit Pearl. The driver didn’t stop, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes said.

“We are still looking for a silver passenger vehicle that struck the dog and left,” she said Friday.

Mahlberg said he was walking with Pearl, who was in her guidedog harness, when he felt her turn, then realized she’d been hit. Now, he said, he’s worried about getting around by himself. He loved the independence Pearl gave him and worries about having to depend on friends too much.

He said he got Pearl four years ago, after the dog went through two years of intensive training.

Mahlberg was always impressed that she was trained not to bark, he said. She knew how to stand in front of him until traffic stopped when they approached a curb and how to maneuver around rocks or branches on the sidewalk. When he took her harness off at home, she was playful and loved spending time with children in the neighborhood, he said.

Mahlberg said he has contacted the organization he got Pearl from and told them about the dog’s death. For now, he will likely go back to using his cane and perhaps have to rely on friends to help him get around.

Anyone with more information about the case can call Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.