[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 147 (Thursday, November 14, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S11075]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                         TRIBUTE TO GUIDE DOGS

 Mrs. CLINTON. Madam President, after reading an article in The 
Saturday Evening Post about the Germans training dogs to aid veterans 
blinded during World War I, a blind man living in Tennessee named 
Morris Frank wrote to the author, ``Thousands of blind like me abhor 
being dependent on others. Help me and I will help them. Train me and I 
will bring back my dog and show people here how a blind man can be 
absolutely on his own.'' The author, Dorothy Harrison Eustis agreed to 
Mr. Frank's request, and Mr. Frank's dog Buddy became the first guide 
dog in America.
  That was 1929 and today, there are more than 7,000 guide dogs serving 
in America, and two performed miracles in New York on September 11.
  That morning, Roselle, a yellow Labrador Retriever and her owner, 
Michael Hingson, went to the office on the 78th floor of the World 
Trade Center. While Mr. Hingson worked, Roselle slept underneath his 
desk. Then the plane hit the South Tower, and what she did next was 
nothing short of heroic. She guided Mr. Hingson through the smoke and 
to the stairwell. Not only did Roselle help Mr. Hingson down 78 flights 
of stairs, but another woman who had been blinded by debris clutched 
Roselle's harness until they reached safety.
  There was another yellow lab in the World Trade Center named Salty. 
His owner, Omar Rivera, worked on the 71st floor of the Port Authority. 
After the planes hit, Salty refused to leave Omar's side and walked 
through the smoke-filled stairway, broken glass and debris to get Mr. 
Rivera and a co-worker to safety. Even as the North Tower collapsed and 
the debris cloud filled the streets, Salty remained calm, loyal, and 
focused on guiding Mr. Rivera to a place free from danger.
  These two guide dogs performed their jobs under the most extreme 
circumstances. But what they did that day reinforced what guide dogs do 
every day--they provide independence to individuals who are blind and 
visually impaired so that they can live their life free from 
constraints. To serve as another's set of eyes, to navigate busy city 
streets, and to keep their owners from harm's way is a responsibility 
that only a loyal dog would welcome with no questions asked.
  Thorughout the United States and around the world, Guide Dog Schools 
have given more than one hundred thousand people the chance to move 
about the world with freedom and dignity. Each school offers their 
guide dogs at no cost to the owners. All they have to do is apply, 
attend training, and promise to care for their dog for the rest of his 
or her life. The success of each school is dependent upon thousands of 
staff, volunteers, and generous supporters. Many people volunteer to 
raise puppies, socialize them and then give them up at the end of the 
year. And we see these dogs every day sitting patiently on the subway, 
stopping at walk lights, and maneuvering people around hazards that 
prevent a safe, straight path. They wear bright colored vests that read 
``Guide Dog in Training.''
  Not only did Morris Frank bring the first guide dog to America, he 
opened the first school in 1929, The Seeing Eye. Now in every State, 
guide dog schools provide an invaluable service. In California, The 
Guide Dog School just celebrated its 60th Anniversary, and in New York, 
The Guide Dog Foundation in Smithtown, has assisted New Yorkers and 
others from around the world since 1946. And Guiding Eyes for the Blind 
in Yorktown Heights has graduated more than 5,000 dogs and owners since 
1954.
  Each success story is testament that one good idea can transform the 
lives of many. But the success of the guide dog schools would not have 
occurred without two key components: those who believed that the blind 
and visually impaired could lead more independent lives with the right 
kind of help, and the dogs, the Labrador Retrievers, the Golden 
Retrievers, the German Shepherds, and other breeds that are ready, 
willing, and able to guide their owners through the world.
  Every day, thousands of people grab on to the harness and place their 
trust in their companion. Some have acted with remarkable heroism like 
those on September 11, and we have all heard the stories about guide 
dogs waking their owners in the event of a fire and blocking them from 
the path of a speeding car. But most go through their days with quiet 
dignity and they deserve our utmost respect. Whether they are named 
Roselle or Salty or Buddy, they all respond in the same way. That 
harness goes on, their eyes open, and they show us that it is possible 
to walk through this world with a profound desire to help another so 
that life is limitless.

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