GUIDE DOGS IN THE USA: INDEPENDENCE WITH DIGNITY

Today we celebrate forgotten heroes:  a dog, her owner, a friend and the first, world-famous guide dog training school in the United States.

The Seeing Eye®, founded January 29, 1929, a non-profit that was founded during a time when there was no such thing as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Allowances for the disabled were non-existent and the ability to lead independent lives could be and often was, overly reliant on or even hampered by others and their own timetables. Morris Frank and Buddy, the first Seeing Eye® dog, became pioneers and ambassadors for people who are blind or visually impaired. They and others proved and provided a solution to independently functioning in normal society on their own terms 
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ORIGINALLY WRITTEN 01.29.21

BUDDY & MORRIS SCULPTURE, IMAGE COURTESY OF KRITZOLINA

Up to 500,000 children between 1900 and 1945 had a physical or sensory impairment due to poverty and/or disease.  No vaccinations.  Childhood diseases or conditions alone that can cause blindness are measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, rubella, strabismus, Vitamin-A-deficiency, or premature birth. Blindness was somewhat of a taboo subject because of its connection to venereal disease.  The return of disabled soldiers of WWI created a national conundrum. The 1800's attitude that the disabled were a burden to others to be shunned or worst began to change.
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The incredible Helen Keller (1880-1968) overcame her disabilities in a manner that was historically unheard of. She graduated cum laude Radcliffe College in 1904, traveled to 39 countries on five continents (1924-1964) giving over 450 lectures educating the world about the disabled on behalf of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB).   She encouraged removing the disabled from asylums to advocating social and legislative change worldwide.  While her story is well known many activists worked very hard for a better life for the disabled and who were practically, unknown.  
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MORRIS & BUDDY, IMAGE COURTESY OF TN STATE LIBRARY & ARCHIVES

Morris Frank was born in 1908 in Nashville, TN to a blind mother. He lost sight in his right eye while horseback riding when he was six and ran into a tree limb.  At sixteen, he became completely blind because of a boxing injury to his left eye. He enrolled in Vanderbilt and worked selling insurance. Assistants were hired to help him navigate college, but they were unreliable and Morris's independence was frustratingly impaired. 

In 1927 when Morris was 19, something changed his life and had a greater impact than he ever would have imagined. A wonderful, lifelong adventure was just about to begin.  It started when his father read him an article from The Saturday Evening Post written by Dorothy Harrison Eustis.

​​Dorothy Harrison Eustis, philanthropist, dog breeder, and dog trainer, wrote about World War I veterans blinded by gas. She focused particularly on those blinded during 1917 and 1918 and were now learning to work with guide dogs in Germany, where she had observed such a school and class. Many WW1 soldiers were blinded by chlorine or mustard gas. There was a tremendous response to her article.  The same response brought her a letter from Morris Frank.

​Morris wrote to her about getting a guide dog as Dorothy bred German Shepherds and ran her own guide dog training school in Fortunate Fields, Lausanne, Switzerland. He received an invitation attend to her school and the next year he went to Switzerland. After a long trip by boat, Morris met Dorothy and Kiss, a German Shepherd, with whom he was partnered and would later rename Buddy. ​

PART OF, 'Gassed by Artist John Singer Sargent', IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM

MORRIS & BUDDY, IMAGE COURTESY OF UTA LIBRARY

Morris and Buddy spent over two months in Dorothy’s program before they returned to the States.  Dorothy joined him back in the States where together they established The Seeing Eye in Nashville. The school moved two years later to Whippany, NJ where they felt it was a better climate to train German Shepherds year-round. 

​As president of The Seeing Eye® starting in 1929, Dorothy inspired the development of dog guide schools around the world. Dogs were evaluated, selected, and trained as service animals to help the blind and visually impaired.  Dorothy is credited with influencing public awareness of the disabled and she contributed immensely to the beginning of the disability rights movement. Dorothy remained president of The Seeing Eye® until 1940 when she resigned. ​

states. Not only did Morris meet with blind veterans, he spoke on the radio and at many Lions Clubs.​​However, she remained close at hand, on the board of trustees and as a honorary president. She died in 1946 in New York and was later, posthumously, inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011.​

​Morris became the inspiration for many visually impaired people introducing a new and exciting independence and mobility with a guide dog. Through television and other medias he showed the world how a guide dog could change lives when Buddy led him safely across two of the busiest and most dangerous waterfront streets in Manhattan.

​The first television broadcast was in suburb of Washington D.C. in 1928 but was not widespread until the 1950's. He began a campaign to introduce the guide dogs and their advantages that would forever change how people with visual disabilities would be seen and could 

MORRIS & BUDDY, IMAGE COURTESY OF UTA LIBRARY

function. Morris  promoted independence via guide dogs to the visually impaired and he worked to change the laws and establish new policies for guide dogs. ​​

MORRIS & BUDDY CROSSING, IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE SEEING EYE®

Eventually, Morris Vice President at The Seeing Eye®, met two Presidents, a First Lady, travelled throughout the United States and Canada. He met with hundreds of ophthalmologists, other professionals and spoke with Seeing Eye graduates from Canada and 48 states.

​Following the Pratt-Smoot Act in 1931, libraries had the funding to provide books in braille. In 1932 a universal braille code for English was announced. Time magazine reported ramps replaced steps during the 1933 inauguration of F.D. Roosevelt and more was reported about him and his wheelchair although photos of him in his​

wheelchair were suppressed. One of the first wheel-chair-accessible government buildings was the White House. Morris worked to change the rules for guide dogs to travel in the compartment with their owner by train in 1935 and by air rather than crated in cargo. In 1939, hotels started to allow more guide dogs in. ​
     
A few days before Buddy passed away, Morris and her world changed yet again. Buddy was allowed to be with Morris in the cabin on a commercial flight. Together they had travelled over 50,000 miles demonstrating how a guide dog could offer independence with dignity for the blind and visually impaired. All five of the following seeing-eye dogs Morris had were named Buddy. He always spoke of “the divine gift of freedom” that the original Buddy had given him. Buddy opened doors for Morris never thought could happen.  People wanted to talk to him about his dog and Morris was able to talk about his dog to the world. May 23, 1938, Buddy passed away, and her death was noted in the New York Times.  
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In 1956, when Morris retired, there were laws passed giving the blind the right to access public buildings and restaurants with their guide dogs.  After 27 years with The Seeing Eye®, Morris founded his own insurance agency. He returned to selling insurance as he had during his Vanderbilt years. In 1965 The Seeing Eye® moved to a newer building and its current location in Morristown, NJ.  

Morris worked for the rights of the blind and impaired to create and establish complete public access for guide dogs.  Today, the roots of the Americans with Disabilities Act have Morris Frank and Buddy as unsung heroes in its legacy. 

Morris and Blake Clark wrote a book, First Lady of The Seeing Eye in 1957, recounting the difficulties of being blind in society that has no space for the different, and his journey with Buddy, Dorothy and the start of The Seeing Eye®. In recognition of his accomplishments, Morris was bestowed the honorary title of Colonel during his life by the governor of TN.

After Morris passed away November 22, 1980 in Mendham Township, NJ the name 'Buddy' was retired. In 1984, his life story was told in a Walt Disney movie, 'Love Leads the Way: A True Story.' There was even a one-man show about Morris and Buddy, With a Dog’s Eyes, was written and performed by William Mooney.
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MORRIS FRANK, IMAGE COURTESY OF THE HALL OF FAME

In 2005, a sculpture of Morris and Buddy by John Seward Johnson II titled, The Way to Independence, was unveiled in Morristown. In 2008, Nashville, a plaque that reads, “Independence and Dignity Since 1929,” was dedicated in memory of Morris near where The Seeing Eye was founded. Morris was also posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field in 2010. ​

​“The Seeing Eye is an innovator and pioneer in the field of breeding, raising, and training outstanding Seeing Eye® dogs . . .  [and] continues to honor the legacy of Morris Frank and Buddy by educating the public about the rights of people with disabilities and pursuing legislation that will protect guide dog teams.” – President and CEO, Jim Kutsch. 

Recommendations: 
​​'First Lady of the Seeing Eye' by Morris Frank and Blake Clark    
Dog Tales on Spotify, 'Buddy: America's First Seeing-Eye Dog'
The Seeing Eye's® Website​ The Seeing Eye is a founding member of  the Council of U.S, Guide dog Schools.  It is also a fully qualified member of the International Guide Dog Federation.  For more about The Seeing Eye, its support of veterans and the visually impaired please go to visit the website or call (973) 539-4425, or email [email protected].  
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References: 
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Corrigan, Richard. “Rules for Flying with a Service Dog.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 8 Feb. 2017, https://traveltips.usatoday.com/rules-flying-service-dog-103409.html.

“Dorothy Harrison Eustis.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Mar. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Harrison_Eustis.

“Helen Keller.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Helen-Keller.

“History.” The Seeing Eye - History, https://www.seeingeye.org/about-us/history.html.

“Louis Braille.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Apr. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Braille.

“Morris Frank & Buddy.” TN History For Kids - Morris Frank & Buddy, https://www.tnhistoryforkids.org/history/people/morris-frank-buddy/.

“Morris Frank Inducted 2010.” Morris Frank, https://sites.aph.org/hall/inductees/frank/.

“Morris Frank.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Nov. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Frank.

“Morris S. Frank Originator of ‘Seeing Eye’ Philanthropy for the Blind.” UTA Libraries Digital Gallery/Digitalgallery-Beta, 23 Mar. 2020, https://library.uta.edu/digitalgallery/img/10013318.

Parcast. “Buddy: America's First Seeing-Eye Dog.” Spotify, Parcast, 11 Nov. 2019, https://open.spotify.com/episode/0XfhDDnPZ1k2p7s09XrCoG.

Pruszewicz, Marek. “How Deadly Was the Poison Gas of WW1?” BBC News, BBC, 30 Jan. 2015, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31042472.

“The Seeing Eye Celebrates 90th Anniversary on Jan. 29.” The Seeing Eye - The Seeing Eye Celebrates 90th Anniversary on Jan. 29, https://www.seeingeye.org/press/press-releases/the-seeing-eye-celebrates.html.