International Women’s Day: The Women Who Led the Way for Guide Dogs

Volunteer Ann Ryan looks at the trailblazing women who were influential in the guide dog world and whose legacy is still felt today

International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women whose ideas have transformed lives around the world.

Among these remarkable contributions is the development of guide dog organisations—an international movement that has opened pathways to independence for people who are blind or vision impaired.

In Ireland, this legacy is particularly meaningful as we in Irish Guide Dogs celebrate our 50th anniversary this year, marking five decades of life-changing partnerships between our clients and our guide, assistance and community dogs.

The roots of guide dog organisations being established stretch back nearly a century and are deeply intertwined with the foresight and determination of pioneering women who recognised the extraordinary potential of dogs to support human independence.

Dorothy Harrison Eustis was an American woman training and breeding dogs for the customs service, army, and police in Switzerland. She heard about dogs being trained as “blind leaders” at the Potsdam school in Germany (established in 1923), which trained German Shepherd dogs for ex–World War I soldiers blinded by mustard gas. Dorothy decided to travel to Germany to learn more and was so moved by the experience that she returned to Switzerland determined to train her own “blind leaders.” She later wrote about this work in The Saturday Evening Post, and the article was published in the United States on 5 November 1927. (View the article)

This single article proved to be a seed that would grow into a worldwide movement. In response to the overwhelming interest it generated, Eustis partnered with Frank Morris to found The Seeing Eye School on 29 January 1929, now recognised as the oldest guide dog school in the world.

Inspired by this pioneering work, British women and German Shepherd breeders Muriel Crooke and Rosamund Bond contacted Ms. Eustis in the United States, who sent one of her trainers to Britain. The first four British guide dogs—Flash, Folly, Meta, and Judy—completed their training, which led to the formal founding of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in Britain on 30 August 1934. Today, GDBA is the world’s largest assistance dog organisation.

Cork woman Mary Dunlop first encountered the power of guide dogs when she acquired a retired British guide dog named Jan as a family pet. Struck by the dog’s intelligence and ability, she began fundraising for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. In 1964, she famously raised £3 in Bandon—funds that helped send Irish people to the UK to train with guide dogs. She later appeared on RTÉ's The Late Late Show in 1969 with Jan, bringing national attention to the cause.

With the full support of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind was founded in 1976 by Ms Dunlop and Jim Dennehy, with Mary Dunlop serving as its first president. The inaugural meeting at which Dunlop was elected president took place in the Mansion House, Dublin and was chaired by broadcaster Jim Sherwin.

She was named People of the Year in 1981, but characteristically refused to accept the honour personally, insisting it belonged to the organisation and all those involved in its work. Since then, Irish Guide Dogs has been responsible for over 2,000 life-changing partnerships between people and highly trained guide, assistance and community dogs, developing a reputation for outstanding excellence in training standards, dog welfare and ongoing family support.

Mary's legacy and that of Dorothy, Rosamund and Muriel is a worldwide network of guide dog organisations empowering thousands of people every year to live their lives independently.

For us in Ireland, Mary Dunlop, along with Jim Dennehy, led the way to change the lives of many, many families.

Mary passed away in December 2003 at the age of 91.

• Pictured above is a portrait of Mary Dunlop, which hangs in the Irish Guide Dogs Training Centre in Cork.
• Pictured below is Mary presenting a training certificate to staff member Susan Turtle.