History

Although it is not definitive, the first guide dogs may have dated back to the mid 1600s, based on evidence from a nursery rhymes from that time (Opie, Iona and Peter Opie, ed. 1952). The first guide dog training program seems to have started in Germany around World War I, with the goal of training German Shepherds for blinded soldiers. Upon seeing these soldiers with their dogs, a wealthy American woman decided to start training dogs for the blind and brought the practice to the United States. There are now many types of service dogs helping people with a variety of different disabilities (The Seeing Eye 2012). From the time seeing eye dogs came to the USA, until the early 1970’s, they were the only type of service dog recognized in the USA (Dalziel et al. 2003).