January 29: The Seeing Eye Established (1929)
Prayer Idea
Pray for people who train service animals.
History Note
Morris Frank read an article by Dorothy Harrison Eustis in 1927. Eustis helped train dogs to serve veterans of World War I who had become blind. Frank reached out to Eustis to provide a service dog for him. She agreed to help.
In 1928 Morris Frank, who was blind, navigated a busy street in New York City with his service dog, Buddy. This powerful demonstration showed how service dogs could help people who are blind increase their freedom of movement and gain independence.
Morris Frank and Dorothy Eustis co-founded The Seeing Eye in 1929. It is the oldest existing guide dog school in the world. Located in Morristown, New Jersey, the organization has trained and matched 18,000 dogs with people who need them.
John Seward Johnson II created this statue of Morris Frank and his dog Buddy. It is located in Morristown, New Jersey. Photo by Kritzolina / Wikimedia Commons (cropped). Used with a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Learn More
This video shows Morris Frank with Buddy and includes clips of Frank talking about his experience.
Visit Homeschool History to learn more about Morris Frank and service animals.
