The History Of Seeing Eye Dogs

No one really knows when the concept of using assistance animals for the blind first came into our lives. Some have suggested that dogs have been used in this way in various cultures for a quite a while. One thing we do know is that no formal guide dog program existed until after the First World War.

Why German Shepherds?
Many people including myself have wondered why guide dogs and Seeing Eye dogs are almost always German Shepherds. This question really has two answers. First and most important the German Shepherd has a strong sense of loyalty to its owner, giving it a natural tendency to be very protective. Having a protective dog as a companion is an obvious asset for anyone who may otherwise be easily attacked. 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 combat during the first world war.

By the end of World War One Germany was devastated by financial depression. Many private businesses failed and the German school that trained guide dogs for the blind was one of them.

The Beginning
An American woman named Dorothy Eustis had become interested in the program and decided it was a very worthy cause. Dorothy owned a company which was training German Shepherds as working dogs; she decided she would like to try to train guide dogs for the blind. This venture took some time to get started, and before it did Dorothy wrote a story about the possibilities, which was published in her local paper.

A Nashville man named Morris Frank had heard about the story and decided to contact Ms. Eustis and ask her if she would train a dog for him. She agreed, and Mr. Frank became known as the first blind person ever 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 later started was dubbed "The Seeing Eye" and the so-called Seeing Eye dog was born. Today guide dogs are still trained and are able 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.

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