And he got it. Coupling courage with calm confidence, independence with compliance, derring-do with dignity, provides the balance that makes the German Shepherd the world's premier working dog. However, German Shepherd Dogs serve mankind in many other ways, often quietly and unobtrusively. This desire to work, with their flexibility and intelligence, has made the German Shepherd an awesome service dog. Service dogs may include dogs that lead and assist the blind, dogs that alert the hearing disabled to noises and alarms, dogs that pull wheelchairs and pick up dropped items, and dogs trained for a thousand and one other useful tasks.
Guide dogs are the oldest known assistance dogs.
A fresco, dating from 79 AD, uncovered in the ruins of Pompeii, shows a blind man with a staff being led across a marketplace by his dog. The first Guide Dog in the United States was originally trained in Switzerland, then it was placed with Morris Frank in the United States. In 1927, an article in the Saturday Evening Post had introduced the idea of guide dogs for blind World War I veterans. Frank, a blind teenager in America, inquired about a dog for himself and was paired with Buddy, a German Shepherd Dog. In fact, Frank, in return for Buddy's services, spent the rest of his life campaigning for guide and service dogs and better medical care for dogs.