Evening star., 1938-05-24
Buddy, First Seeing Eye Dog,
Is Mourned BY Blind Master
(St0ry on Page ALL
Special Dispatch to The Star.

6pSClel OlcpaLCn W ! hG SthIs
WHIPPANY, N. j., May "a
Buddy. the first Of the Seeing Eye dogs
and forerunner of the $50 dog guides
now leading the blind in this country,
died Of old age yesterday at the train
ing school Of the Seeing Eye. She was
buried without ceremony under pine
tree near the entrance. Buddy was
1ll2 years old.
Morris S. Frank. 30-year-old blind
college graduate. vice president and
founder Of the Seeing Eye. who for 10
years had been the constant COM
panion and dependent Of the dog, was
broken hearted at her death. Il feel
that I am blind again." he said,
Buddy was my sight"
Buddy travelled more than 100000
miles with Mr.. Frank, on foot and in
trains, airplanes and ships. They ap-
peared on more than 1000 lecture
platforms, appealing to more than
100000 persons for aid to the Seeing
Eye School, which is only partially
supported by payments from the bene-
fitted blind. Buddy met Presidents
Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover,
and counted Cordell Hull. Secretary of
State, and Alexander Woollcott among
her close friends.
The dog exceeded the average life
expectancy OF canine guides by two
or three years. A noticeable slacken-
ing Of her pace during recent months
indicated her failing health. During
Christmas week surgeon in Nash
vile. Tenn, operated to remove a
growth but Buddy did not regain her
spirits. Last week in Chicago, Mr..
Frank became alarmed, cut short q
lecture tour and few Buddy East.
She had been under medical treat
ment at the training school since.
The tour, which Buddy's fatal ILL
ness cut short, was to appeal for con-
tributions to a security fund of 81 ,600.-
900 now being raised as an end7y-
ment to make certain that no blind
person who has had guide dog VIII
be forced to 60 on without one after
the death of the first.
The dog was born on October IS.
1926 in little village in Switzerland,
and was trained by Mrs. Harrison Els
tis, then head of Fortunate Fields. a
training school for dogs and dog-guide
trainers at Vevey. Switzerland. Mr..
Frank, a graduate of Vanderbilt Uni
versity, heard of the work in 1927 and
a year later went to Switzerland to OBJ
tain one of the dog guides. He was so
pleased with Buddy, novelty here,
although thousands of canine guides
were in use in Germany, Italy and
France, that he persuaded Mrs. Eus-
tis to join him in setting up the first
Seeing Eye School in Nashville. This
was later moved to Whippany. Mrs.
Eustis is president of the Seeing Eye
Mrs. Eustis had named the dog Kiss,
but Frank Immediately renamed her
The two became inseparable, passing
up hotels, restaurants and vehicles
which would not admit both. Buddy
among other duties assumed those Of
a valet. Each morning he brought
Frank his underwear, then followed
with socks, shirt, trousers, shoes and
collar, in that order.
Buddy toured the private schools of
the East and Midwest and other in
stitutions with such frequency that he
came to know his way from memory
through the lobbies and to the desks
and elevators of many of the large
hotels of New York, Boston, Cleveland
and Chicago.
Prejudices against Buddy as dog,
no matter what his status as a guide,
were many in the beginning, but they