What a top guide dog team wants you to know about The Seeing Eye

Seeing Eye CEO Jim Kutsch and Vegas next to statue of Seeing Eye founder Morris Frank and Buddy, June 23, 2018. Photo by Carly Cannavina
Seeing Eye CEO Jim Kutsch and Vegas next to statue of Seeing Eye founder Morris Frank and Buddy, June 23, 2018. Photo by Carly Cannavina
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By Carly Cannavina

Although he lost his sight at age 16, Jim Kutsch now leads a world famous organization  vital to many lives.

Fittingly, this is the same nonprofit that originally provided him with his independence as a visually impaired person— The Seeing Eye.

On Saturday morning, Kutsch shared some insights about The Seeing Eye with about 25 people as part of the Morris County Tourism Bureau’s Discover Morris County walking tour series.

Ginger Kutsch and her guide dog Willa, on Seeing Eye walking tour, June 23, 2018. Photo by Carly Cannavina
Ginger Kutsch, Jim’a wife, and her guide dog Willa, on Seeing Eye walking tour, June 23, 2018. Photo by Carly Cannavina

The tour spanned from the Seeing Eye’s Maple Avenue office to the far side of the historic Morristown Green.

Here’s what one very accomplished guide dog team — Kutsch and his dog, Vegas — wants you to know about the Seeing Eye and its canines:

They ensure that guide dogs are affordable for all qualified persons.
The cost of adoption for an individual’s first guide dog is $150, while all successor dogs are  $50. Thanks to the generosity of benefactors, no one is turned away from The Seeing Eye because of a lack of funds.

They benefit from the “never-ending construction in Morristown.”
For guide dogs in training, the many orange cones and fenced-off areas of sidewalks and road construction sites create perfect obstacle courses for training dogs and people.

“We love construction!” Kutsch said. In fact, many obstacles are put in place just for this purpose. That untrimmed branch you walked into on South Street might’ve been left there intentionally, along the training route.

They’re planning a party!
The Seeing Eye’s 90th anniversary will occur in January 2019. To celebrate, a big family reunion is in the works for August next year. Upwards of 150 Seeing Eye alumni (and their dogs) will be invited back to town.

Their mission can be summed up in one word: Independence.
Seeing Eye dogs are not paired with people still learning to cope with blindness, but rather with already well-adjusted individuals seeking greater independence. The dogs are meant to “enhance their daily lives,” according to Kutsch.

They are still dogs.
Guide dogs still are dogs, and they can get distracted by other animals, people or food.

(Kutsch’s German shepherd, Vegas, once walked several blocks with a Snickers bar held securely between his teeth!)

So, it is imperative that nobody pets guide dogs while they’re on duty, nor allows their own pets to interact with the dogs. Citizens need to let Seeing Eye dogs do their jobs, because their jobs are crucial.

You can help them.
The Seeing Eye always needs puppy raisers— families or individuals who foster soon-to-be guide dogs during early life, teaching them basic commands and behaviors before returning them to The Seeing Eye for formal training and pairing with visually impaired clients.

Donations are welcomed here.

Jim Kutsch and Vegas greet guests at walking tour in Morristown, June 23, 2018. Photo by Carly Cannavina
Jim Kutsch (in red) and Vegas greet guests at walking tour in Morristown, June 23, 2018. Photo by Carly Cannavina

Kutsch concluded their tour at the statue of Morris Frank— founder of The Seeing Eye— off the Green.

He pointed out that the statue depicts Frank misplacing his thumb on his dog’s harness.

A person’s thumb should be on the side of the harness, but Frank’s is on top. Kutsch then admitted that he modeled for this statue, because no reference photos of Frank walking a dog were available when it was commissioned.

“So this mistake I’m pointing out to you,” he said with a laugh, “is my own.”

Tours of related Seeing Eye facilities in Morris Township occur every Thursday as well as one Saturday per month. More information can be found here.

Morris Tourism’s next tour is Discover Victorian Morristown, led by Karen Ann Kurlander on Saturday, June 30, 2018. Tickets are $15, and the tour is limited to 30 people. Call 973-631-5151.

The Tourism series consists of nine weekend walks, concluding on Aug. 11.

Carly Cannavina, Morristown High School class of ’18, will study English at George Washington University in the fall.

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