Disability History Fact: History of Guide Dogs

Many people associate the use of trained guide dogs, particularly by people who are blind or visually impaired, with the story of Morris Frank, a young man from Nashville who was blind. In the late 1920s, Frank agreed to start a guide dog training program in the United States in gratitude for receiving his first guide dog from Dorothy Eustis, a wealthy American who was training and breeding dogs for the customs service, army and police in Switzerland. However, the history of trained dogs to assist people who are blind goes much deeper into history.

 

There is convincing evidence that people with vision loss have been working with canine companions, protectors and guides for centuries. The ruins of the Roman city of Herculaneum, which was buried in volcanic ash in AD 79, contain a mural showing a blind person being guided by a dog. There are also pictures from the Middle Ages showing people who appear to be blind walking with a dog on a leash.

 

The first verified attempt to train guide dogs happened at a hospital people who were blind in Paris in 1780; by the early 19^th century, a textbook describing techniques for training guide dogs was published in Vienna by Johann Wilhelm Klein.

 

Today, guide dogs are commonly used across the globe by people who are blind or visually impaired, but also by people with a variety of other disabilities. Currently, about 10,000 people use trained guide dogs in the U.S. and Canada.

 

Adapted from:

The Extraordinary History of Guide Dogs: http://mymagicdog.com/the-extraordinary-history-of-guide-dogs/

CNIB: A History of Guide Dogs: http://www.cnib.ca/en/living/safe-travel/Pages/history-dogs-0807.aspx