Seeing Eye Dogs - A Brief History
by:
Jacob Deam
You have no doubt seen a blind
person being lead across a busy intersection by a Seeing Eye dog. These
functional companions have been used to help handicapped people become
independent for years. Nobody knows exactly when the concept of a
Seeing Eye dog came into existence but it has been suggested that dogs
have been used in such a capacity in various cultures for a very long
time. It is known, however, that there was no formal guide dog program
in existence until after the First World War.
Why German Shepherds?
Many people have probably
wondered why guide dogs and Seeing Eye dogs are so often German
Shepherds. There are two reasons. First, the German Shepherd has a
strong sense of loyalty to its owner, giving it natural protective
tendencies. Having a very protective dog as a companion is an obvious
asset for someone who may otherwise be easily attacked by someone with
bad intentions. The second reason is far simpler; the first guide dogs
for the blind and visually impaired were trained in Germany to provided
assistance for those blinded in the war.
After the end of World War I,
Germany was in a state of financial depression. Many private businesses
failed and the Potsdam, Germany school that trained the guide dogs for
the blind was one of them.
The Seeing Eye was born
An American woman named Dorothy
Eustis had heard about the program and decided it was a very worthwhile
endeavor. Because she owned a company that was training German
Shepherds as working dogs, she decided she might try to train guide
dogs for the blind. She did not start this right away, however. In fact
she was still considering the possibilities when she wrote a story for
The Saturday Evening Post about the potential for guide dogs for the
blind.
A Nashville man named Morris
Frank had heard the story and decided to get in touch with Ms. Eustis
and ask her to train a dog for him. She did and Mr. Frank became known
as the first blind person to use a guide dog.
As part of an arrangement
he’d made with Ms. Eustis, Mr. Frank started training guide
dogs in the United States. The foundation that Mr. Frank started was
named “The Seeing Eye” and the dogs that were used
were dubbed Seeing Eye dogs.
Today guide dogs are trained to
assist people with many different disabilities. There are Hearing Ear
dogs to assist the deaf and other dogs that assist the physically
disabled. All of the people who have benefited from the use of a guide
dog, however, owe their thanks to Mr. Morris Frank of Nashville,
Tennessee.
