Dogs have always been a person’s best friend, but to the people who seek out the services from The Seeing Eye® organization, these four-legged heroes are more than just friends— they are life changers. And two women — in Waynesboro and Greencastle — are big helpers.
Trish Wagoner of Greencastle is now raising her 23rd pup, while Penny Rowe of Waynesboro has been working with the group for 13 years.
The Seeing Eye® organization has been helping those individuals who are vision impaired since 1929 when the use of canine companions made its way overseas from Europe to the states. Since that time, it has been the company’s mission to “enhance the independence, dignity, and self-confidence of blind people through the use of Seeing Eye® dogs.”
One of the ways they do this is through special program where volunteers known as “puppy raisers” who raise and train the extraordinary animals whose mission it is to change the life of a person in need.
Last month on March 27 at their main campus in Morristown, N.J., about 70 of these puppy raising volunteers met where they received additional training and updates about how things are progressing within the organization.
Rowe, who volunteers as a Puppy Club Leader is raising a 4-month-old golden lab puppy named Roddy. Penny has been raising pups for 13 years and explains the role of a puppy raiser.
“Our job is to train them in the basic commands— sit, lay down, and most importantly to come when called,” she said.
Wagaman, who partners with Penny as a Franklin County Seeing Eye® leader, is currently raising her 23rd dog for the organization. A playful shepherd named Tyler. Together, these two extraordinary women work with a group of volunteers all over Franklin County and attend several local events where people can meet the dogs and learn more about the program.
“We are always looking for more volunteers to help raise the pups,” Penny said, “and Seeing Eye pays for everything. Vet bills, food, all of it.”
The only thing she said they don’t pay for are dog toys and what she playfully calls, “puppy damage.” The type of things like chewed shoes and knocked over plants that a dog owner would come to expect.
Both women agreed that the hardest part was saying goodbye once the pups are ready to go to the organization campus where they will receive further training to prepare for their new role.
In its 95 years of existence, Seeing Eye® has provided companions for over 18,000 people and that number is growing daily, but how did it all get started?
According to their website, the organization’s founder, Morris Frank, read an article that changed his life. He read about dogs being trained to assist blind veterans from World War I. Frank was inspired by this and sought out the woman who wrote the article, Dorothy Harrison Eustis.
Eustis was living in Switzerland and was breeding and training German shepherd dogs for use by the police and military. Frank traveled to Switzerland where he learned from Eustis before returning home to New York City with his own seeing dog, Buddy. Frank was not just inspired by the concept of the training but also reaped the benefits of it as he was also vision impaired.
Frank and Buddy would move about on the streets of the country’s busiest metropolis showcasing the amazing talents of the dog and what it could mean for all those in need of assistance. From there, Frank and Eustis would form Seeing Eye® and create a school where people could learn to train dogs and expand their mission.
For more information on the Seeing Eye® organization or for info on how to become a volunteer visit their website: https://seeingeye.org/
