Morris Frank has made it in US history as the first American to own a seeing-eye dog.
At six years old, Morris lost his left eye vision when he met an accident while riding a horse. Ten years later, he completely lost his vision after a boxing match.
When he was 20 years old, Morris learned about seeing-eye dogs when his father read a newspaper article to him. The article actually appeared in the Saturday Evening Post written by Dorothy Harrison Eustis telling about how she witnessed veterans in Switzerland being assisted by dogs after they had lost their sense of sight during WW I.
Morris wanted to be independent despite his disability. He was deeply frustrated because he would always rely on other people to guide him wherever he wished to go. He wrote to Dorothy to tell her that he wanted to have a seeing-eye dog.
Morris went to Switzerland to meet Dorothy and to train him with Buddy, a German Shepherd, who would be his seeing-eye dog. He trained with Buddy for 30 days before he went back to the United States with her.
During that time, using dogs as a guide for blind people was something new for Americans. Dorothy agreed to provide financial support to Morris under two conditions: he had to prove that seeing-eye dogs could help a blind individual to navigate the busy streets, and he had to educate the people about allowing seeing-eye dogs in all public places.
Morris founded The Seeing Eye when he went back to the United States. The Seeing Eye was the first organization that trained dogs to become seeing-eye dogs in the country. He and his dog became instrumental in the creation and passing of the laws that later on, became the foundation of the present-day Americans with Disabilities Act.
Morris was grateful to Buddy for giving him the independence that he wanted. He did not want his disability to be a hindrance for him to go to different places.
Video courtesy of The Seeing Eye via YouTube
