Navigating Independence: From Cane to Canine

Before a guide dog can help a blind person navigate the world, it has to pass a series of tests, then go through $75,000 worth of training. Zachary Crockett sniffs around.

• SOURCES:
  • Peggy Gibbon, director of canine development at The Seeing Eye.
  • Charles Pat McKenna, assistant division director of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Why Seeing Eye Dogs Are So Expensive To Breed and Train," by Abby Tang and Emily Christian (Business Insider, 2024).
  • "For decades, the blind have used canes to get around. Now a special wristband gives them a ‘sixth sense.'" by Peter Holley (Washington Post, 2017).
  • The Seeing Eye.
  • "History of Guide Dogs," by The International Guide Dog Federation.
  • "Facts and Figures" by The International Guide Dog Federation.

• EXTRAS:
  • "Morris Frank," by The International Guide Dog Foundation (Vimeo, 2021).