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Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2003
Left on this road to (L) the SEEING EYE, 0.5 mile, a widely known institution for
training German shepherd dogs to guide the blind. Many blind persons come here,
lacking the confidence needed for a single step forward. When they leave, grasping
the rigid U-shaped harness of the dog, they are ready to cross city streets. The trainng is efficient but expensive; philanthropic groups and persons make it possible to
supply the dogs to the blind at a reasonable cost. It is only after rigid health and
intelligence tests that the arduous three-month process of educating a dog begins.
bitches are preferred because they are gentler. The animal is taught to obey the
commands, "Forward! Right! Left!"-and to ignore these commands when obedience might lead her master to serious injury or death. The blind also must be taught,
nd the broad grounds of the institution and busy streets of Morristown are the
schoolrooms. The peak of the dual training comes when the dog learns to walk
..round obstacles high enough for her to pass under, but low enough to impede her
raster. A piece of string is stretched close to the ground. Little by little the barrie
raised until, instead of circling it, the dog can pass beneath it. When this occurs,
she turns to see how her master is faring. Again and again this is repeated until the
dog learns to judge her master's height and to circle obstacles that are too low.
The project was conceived by Mrs. Harrison Eustis when, on her travels through
Europe, she was impressed by the extraordinary efficiency of the dogs used by the
German and Swiss police and by the World War blind. Assisted by Elliot S.
Humphries, a circus-animal trainer, Mrs. Eustis' experiments progressed until they
came to the attention of a blind Southerner, Morris S. Franks. Franks' offer of his
services was quickly accepted, and, after a period of training in Europe, he returned
to America with only a dog to guide him. The journey was completely successful,
and Franks prevailed upon Mrs. Eustis to continue her work here. He now directs
the organization.
Alexander Woollcott broadcasts the story of the wife who returned a dog to the
Seeing Eye with this note attached: "I am sending the dog back. My husband used
to depend on me. Now he is independent, and I never know where he is."
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