[nagdu] More On the Senator And His Guide Dog (pre-Buddy)

[harold leigland]

hi buddy, I was interested in this as well, but also because of the mention of senator Walsh, who was a close friend of my grand parents; he died on the train back to washington Dc of food poisoning. Some thought he was murdered by his enemeies big business. very interesting. hal    

----- Original Message -----
From: Buddy Brannan <buddy at brannan.name>
To: the National Association of Guide Dog Users NAGDU Mailing List <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Date: Friday, Nov 25, 2011 08:02:07 PM
Subject: [nagdu] More On the Senator And His Guide Dog (pre-Buddy)

>
>
> Ah. Someone found me a copy of the book I was missing, so for completeness' sake, here's the passage from it regarding the Minnesota Senator. Not much to add from Peter Putnam's account, but certainly a different slant on the matter:
> 
>      Mr. J. L. Sinykin, of St. Paul, whose hobby is fine shepherd
> dogs, began to hear stories about the success of the eye dog from
> his business associates on the other side.  Always a lover of
> shepherd dogs, and in deep sympathy with those unfortunate souls
> whose lives must be lived in shadows and total darkness, he
> responded to an inner sense of duty toward these fellow creatures
> and a desire to do something that would make it possible for the
> blind of America to have the advantage of such dogs.  After
> considerable difficulty he succeeded in getting two of these dogs
> out of Germany and into the United States.
>      He placed Lux, the first dog to reach here, with his friend,
> Senator Thomas D. Schall of Minneapolis, and instructed him in
> how to use Lux.  The Senator was eager to gain the freedom and
> the degree of privacy from human guardianship he had been
> promised, and quickly learned to be guided over familiar ground,
> attending to business and chatting with friends in shops along
> the way.  He soon learned to extend his territory in his home
> town and to make new friends and enjoy some of the things long
> since denied him.  Permits were obtained by the Senator to have
> Lux with him in his stateroom on board pullmans and airship lines
> when traveling to and from Minneapolis and Washington, D. C. Lux
> remained by the Senator's side in his office, and guided him
> about the Senate building and streets of Washington and was his
> inseparable companion for more than six years.  The passing of
> Lux is a pathetic example of the devotion of these dogs to their
> masters.  Senator Schall was obliged to leave the faithful Lux
> with friends for several days while he attended the funeral of
> his friend, Senator Walsh, during which time Lux refused to eat
> and grieved and pined for his master and died of a broken heart,
> a few hours before the Senator returned.
> 
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV — Erie, PA
> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/hleigland%40bresnan.net