Dorothy Harrison Eustis had never imagined that she would train dogs to work as guides for people who were blind. She had an interest in the breeding of German shepherd dogs for work which had been influenced by the changes in German shepherds brought about by the practice of breeding for shows. She began her work on a property owned by her husband's family, and her interest eventually led her to read articles written by a man named Elliott Humphrey. Humphrey eventually joined her on the property, along with his wife and child, and the two entered into a partnership to breed and train German shepherds for work.
The dogs were never sold. In fact, Eustis and Humphrey retained breeding rights after the dogs went to work. When an editor asked Mrs. Eustis to write an article for The Saturday Evening Post, she chose to write about something unrelated to her work, wanting not to be flooded with requests for dogs to purchase. She chose to write about the work being done at severl German schools to train dogs to guide people who were blind. (Putnam, 1997)
The article would change many lives. Although efforts had been made to establish dog guide training programs within the four years preceeding the publication of Mrs. Eustis' article, none were successful in gaining much attention. Mrs. Eustis described the difficulties encountered by people who become blind and, following this description, informed readers of the post about the training of the dogs and their masters.
In closing, Mrs. Eustis countered the bleak picture of dependency which she had first presented with another picture: a picture of the independence available to German veterans who had been blinded and who had obtained dog guides.
The future for all blind men can be the same, however blinded. No longer dependent on a member of the family, a friend or a paid attendant, the blind can once more take up their normal lives as nearly as possible where they left them off, and each can begin or go back to a wage-earning occupation, secure in the knowledge that he can get to and from his work safely and without cost; that crowds and traffic have no longer any terrors for him and that his evenings can be spent among friends without responsibility or burden to them; and last, but far from least, that long, healthful walks are now possible to exercise off the unhealthy fat of inactivity and so keep the body strong and fit. Gentlemen, again without reservation, I give you the shepherd dog.
The article was an offering of hope to all of America's blind people. Letters poured in, sent via publishing companies. Mrs. Eustis' efforts to draw attention away from her own work had succeeded, but she found herself in a new position. After offering such hope to so many blind people, how could she tell them there was no way they could obtain their own dog guides.
One letter caught Mrs. Eustis' attention. It came from a young man from Nashville, Tennessee. The text was rambling and the punctuation poor, but the message was clear. Morris Frank wanted the kind of independence a dog could provide, and he wanted to work to bring this same independence to others. (Putnam, 1997)
Morris Frank was 16 years old when he lost his sight in a fight at school. His mother had lost the sight in one eye because of a hemorrhage during childbirth and had lost the sight in the other later in a horseback riding accident. Although she had never allowed blindness to stop her from doing anything, Morris found that it restricted him greatly. Blind people did not have many career options in 1924. Although they often learned as much as their sighted peers and some went to college, these accomplishments did not help them to break out of the roles which society had prescribed for them. They were performers, beggars or workers in sheltered workshops.
Most frustrating to Morris was his inability to get around independently, as illustrated by Peter Putnam in The Triumph of the Seeing Eye. Once when Morris refused to give a raise to a paid guide, the young man abandoned him right then and there. Besides the possibility of being left with no means of getting around, he also contended with people who expected him to stay seated in one place until they were ready for him to move, even on his way to Switzerland for training with a dog guide. (Hartwell, 1960)
Morris set out for Switzerland in April, 1928. He spent several weeks there, learning to work with a female German shepherd who was originally named Kiss. (Hartwell, 1960) Morris changed her name to Buddy, later, feeling that it was a much more appropriate name for her. All of his subsequent dogs were also called Buddy.
Eustis, Dorothy Harrison. (1927, November 27). The Seeing Eye; The Saturday Evening Post.
Hartwell, Dixon. (1960). Dogs against darkness
Putnam, Peter. The triumph of the seeing eye.
Putnam, Peter. (1997). Love in the lead: The miracle of the seeing eye dog. New York: University Press of America.
This document is copyright 2003 by Sarah J. Blake. For permission to reprint, please email Sarah at sarah@growingstrong.org.
The development of content for this site is supported by your contributions and by the sale of products through various affiliate programs. If you have been touched by the material on this site, please consider shopping at Sarah Jane's or making a contribution using the Amazon Honor System.
Return to the Dog Guide Information Center.