Ostermeier Mark
VA Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics, 8495 Crater Lake Hwy., White City, OR 97503, USA.
Mil Med. 2010 Aug;175(8):587-93. doi: 10.7205/milmed-d-10-00082.
The first guide dog school was established in Germany during World War I to care for German soldiers blinded in that war. Other schools in Germany followed. Observation by an American at one of the schools led to the creation of the first guide dog school in the United States in 1929, "The Seeing Eye." Additional U.S. schools were opened during and after World War II. This article discusses the history of guide dog use by veterans, including the formation of the first guide dog schools in response to aiding blinded servicemen, and the involvement of federal agencies and guide dog schools in providing assistance to blinded veterans.