Buddy: The First Seeing Eye Dog
Buddy: The First Seeing Eye Dog describes Buddy the German Shepard’s training at a school for police dogs in the late 1920s and his special relationship with the young Morris Frank, a blind man who trained Buddy to be the first seeing eye dog.
Before there were guide dogs, blind people were simply marginalized. There were no provisions for them to be in public or hold jobs. They were totally dependent on others for whatever they needed. It took a very special dog to change that…
- About the author: Eva Moore has been writing and editing children’s books for more than forty years. She is the beloved author of many popular books, and lives in Montauk, New York.
Chapter 1:Â Gala and Kiss
Two dogs were playing in the spring sunshine. They were frisky, young German shepherds. They lived in a place called Fortunate Fields. It was in the mountains known as the Swiss Alps.
Many German shepherd dogs lived at Fortunate Fields. They were trained for important work. Some became police dogs. Some learned to deliver messages. Some were taught to find people who were lost.
A woman came walking up the hill. “Gala! Kiss!” she called. They dogs raced over to the woman. She was their owner, Dorothy Eustis. Dorothy was an American, but she had come to live and work in the Swiss Alps. She raised and trained the dogs at Fortunate Fields.
Gala and Kiss were almost old enough to begin their training. But they would not become police dogs or rescue dogs. They would not be like any other dogs born at Fortunate Fields. Something new was about to happen.
