When so much ingenuity and wealth are being put at the service of death and destruction, it is pleasant to learn that in California a school has been established at the cost of $15,000 for the training of dogs as guides for the blind.
This school is called the Hazel Hurst Foundation, and owes its existence to the initiative of Miss Hurst, who is herself blind. She is president, and the school is under her personal direction.
By working as a typist and acting as tutor, Miss Hurst worked her way through public schools and graduated through high school, taking a special course at Columbia University. She was helped by Rotary, which gave her her own guide dog, Babe. Of late years she has done much lecturing, particularly directed to encouraging the blind to choose careers for themselves in spite of their handicap.
German shepherd guide dogs are trained at the school, and then the dog, with his prospective master, train together for at least one month. The foundation does not give up any dog entirely, but retains the right to reclaim it if the applicant decides to give it up or is unable to take proper care of the animal.
The experiment is now in its early stages, and the first group of ten applicants have been received for training. No doubt, the system will extend if the results prove successful. Here in Dublin I have often admired the skilful way in which blind men - from an institution on the north side - find their way across the city with the aid of their white sticks.
Perhaps, as a result of this pioneer work, they will one day share the benefits of this guide dog system.
The Irish Times, July 27th, 1940.