History of Seeing Eye Dogs
The history of Seeing Eye dogs dates at least as far back as the 16th century, where various mentions of the blind being led around by dogs were talked about in books and other such sources. Seeing eye dogs are well-known today as one of the most common means by which the blind learn to adapt to their inability to see, and are one of the best examples of dogs being trained to help people through their daily lives in rather extraordinary ways. Just as pet owners must help their animal companions by administering Dog First Aid and taking care of their various needs, so too have dogs proven able to help their humans when they need it as well. The very first dog-training schools for Seeing Eye Dogs were established during World War I in Germany, in order to help improve the mobility of war veterans whose eyesight's were lost in battle. In 1929, the United States founded a similar Training Seeing Eye Dogs school in Nashville, Tennessee, known as The Seeing Eye, which was moved to Morristown in New Jersey about two years later. Morris Frank, one of the founders of The Seeing Eye, was a Nashville resident and the first owner of a guide dog in America; he was trained in Switzerland with a German Shepherd dog named Buddy during 1928, making him one of the most iconic figures in the history of seeing eye dogs. German Shepherds like Frank's Seeing Eye dog were also the very first guide dogs to be used in Great Britain. Judy, Meta and Folly were three of these dogs, and were given as companions to a group of blinded World War I veterans on October 6, 1931.
Finally, in 1934, the charitable organization known as the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (abbreviated Guide Dogs) was founded in Britain. This organization continues to exist today, and its purpose is to provide guide dog services to blind individuals in need of a Seeing Eye dog. Captain Nikolai Liakhoff was the first permanent trainer for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, having arrived in England around a year before the organization's founding. The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association started to recruit volunteers (who would work as puppy walkers) in 1956. A few years after that, the organization introduced a new breeding program. The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association continued to flourish, and these new components were finally given their very own premises at Tollgate House by 1970. Derek Freeman, a dog breeder who brought up over 20,000 puppies over the course of his lifetime, is widely considered to be one of the most influential figures involved in the development of Guide Dogs, as well as one of the most pivotal players in the history of Seeing Eye dogs as a whole. In 1964, Guide Dogs began to fund their work via children's programming, allowing them to put more Seeing Eye Dogs through Training Seeing Eye Dogs as well as introducing the concept to a new generation of people, and the has since blossomed into one of the biggest, most influential charities that exist. Your Dog's Eyes are as important as yours so pleas protect them.
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