Seeing Eye Dog Day

  Posted on January 29, 2012  by Joy of Living  No comments

Today is Seeing Eye Dog Day, coinciding with the 83rd anniversary of The Seeing Eye, the largest organization for training of guide dogs for the visually impaired.

Twelve times a year, visitors from the US and Canada come to the Seeing Eye campus to become familiar with the program and see the benefits of a having a guide dog.  Once in the program, students spend a month training with a dog.

More than 15,000 specially bred and trained dogs have brought mobility, safety, and self-sufficiency to over 8,000 visually impaired men and women.

The Seeing Eye was formed in 1928 by Morris Frank.  He’d read an article about dogs being trained as guides for blinded veterans of World War I.  Being blind and frustrated by his own lack of mobility, he wrote its author for help.

Dorothy Harrison Eustis trained German shepherd dogs in Switzerland, and when she received Morris Frank’s letter, she agreed to help him.  He promised he would return to the United States and spread the word about these wonderful dogs.  In 1928, Frank demonstrated the ability of his dog Buddy for news reporters.  His one-word telegram to Mrs. Eustis told the entire story  … “Success.”  The Seeing Eye was born, with the dream of making the entire world accessible to people who are blind.

For more information on The Seeing Eye Program, go to seeingeye.org