PALMETTO, Fla. — One resident is in the business of making people smile with chocolate. He’s cooking up treats for the blind and veterans with PTSD at Southeastern Guide Dogs in Palmetto.


What You Need To Know

  • Doug Lehrian volunteers at Southeastern Guide Dogs in Palmetto, making chocolate for the blind and veterans with PTSD

  • He volunteers once a week and has been making sweet treats there for three years

  • His mission is to give people a homemade meal when they stay on campus away from home while uniting with their service dog

Making chocolate is something Doug Lehrian has done for years. His love for chocolate started with his “taste” for science.

“Oh, I think it’s the greatest flavor in the world,” he said. “I was very interested in how things worked.”

Lehrian wanted to go to medical school after college, but it didn’t pan out.

“And so, my major professor took me to Penn State University and introduced me to the Food Science Department,” he said.

That’s when he went on a trip to Brazil to study the cocoa bean and became intrigued with the process of making chocolate. 

For over three decades, he worked as a scientist at the Hershey Company in Pennsylvania, specializing in chocolate development and making some of the brand’s most iconic treats.

Now at 73, he’s retired and living in Florida, but he’s still doing what he loves creating deserts and chocolate.

This time, it’s for people who are blind and for veterans with PTSD at Southeastern Guide Dogs in Palmetto.

“It lets me use my skills and give back to the organization in some way,” he said.

Lehrian volunteers once a week. His first assignment was washing out kennels, but he wanted to find something where he could use his culinary skills.

So, he started baking a variety of goodies, of course. His favorite is chocolate.

It’s something Marisa Blanco looks forward to after a day working with dogs like Astro.

“I think it’s amazing he does this for our employees, but really, for our clients that come in,” said Blanco, manager of the service dog program.

When people are matched with a service dog, they often stay here for weeks getting acquainted. Lehrian wanted to ease their time away from home with something sweet.

“It’s just a pleasure,” Lehrian said.

Mixing his love for chocolate with his heart for volunteering is a winning recipe.

A sweet treat in exchange for a smile: it’s become the icing on the cake for people bonding with their new dogs for the first time.