Happy International Guide Dog Day! Gifts made to The Seeing Eye in honor of the day will be doubled!
Descriptive Transcript
Haben and her Seeing Eye dog Mylo walk through a crowded airport. Haben is wearing a long lilac overcoat and a floral dress; she’s wheeling a suitcase beside her. A man carrying a black brief case hurries past Mylo. In front of Mylo, an airport employee pushes a wheelchair.
Haben: It’s International Guide Dog Day! Guiding through the Amsterdam airport, with all the busy travelers — no problem, he’s a guide dog.
Mylo walks ahead of Haben on a dirt trail. All around them is bright, green shrubbery and the tall trunks of trees. He weaves left and right around old, grey roots sticking out above the dirt and ferns reaching onto the path, making it narrower. A tree appears in the middle of the trail and Mylo guides Haben around it with ease.
Haben: Hiking through the California redwoods, rocks and roots cluttering the trail — he’s got it, he’s a guide dog. Holding his harness lets me feel his body move, and I step and pivot alongside him.
Back at the Amsterdam airport, Mylo moves quickly through what is now a relatively clear pathway. Then a man looking down at his phone crosses in front of Mylo; Mylo slows to avoid running into him.
Haben: As a Deafblind woman, I feel a greater sense of freedom and safety having him by my side. Mylo received his training at The Seeing Eye.
Haben and Mylo stand beside a statue of Morris Frank and his guide dog, Buddy. Haben is wearing a dress patterned with blue, brown, and maroon dots. Morris is in a gray suit, a red tie and a white pocket square peek out from the suit jacket. The green trees and tall office buildings of Morristown, New Jersey fill the space behind them. Morris Frank’s right arm swings forward at his side, while his left holds Buddy’s harness. Haben and Mylo are on the right side of the statue, posed in the same way. Buddy, like Mylo, is a German Shepherd, but slightly larger. Both dogs wear nearly identical tan leather harnesses with silver hardware. They have their mouths open, smiling.
Haben: Every year they train hundreds of dogs to help blind people navigate the world.
An illustration of a person, just their leg and arm, holding a harness attached to a dog. White text in front of the guide dog’s chest reads: The Seeing Eye. Under the image: www.seeingeye.org
Haben: If you can donate or volunteer some time, please support The Seeing Eye.