Morris Frank lost his sight in 1924, when he was only sixteen. But it wasn’t just his sight that he lost—he lost his independence, too. Morris wanted to lead a normal life. One day in 1928, Morris’s dad read him an article about Dorothy Harrison Eustis, an American dog trainer living in Switzerland. She had been training dogs for police and army work, but had recently visited a German school where dogs were taught to help soldiers who had been blinded in World War I.
Thrilled with this new possibility, Morris set off on his own to Switzerland to meet with Dorothy and her head trainer, Jack Humphrey. Morris began training with his dog, Buddy. While he struggled—stepping on Buddy’s paws, not paying attention to her cues, and even walking into a gatepost—Buddy waited patiently at his side, allowing him to learn. At last Morris felt ready to return to America with Buddy at his side.