(L to R) Jillian Camarata, Eliot Russman, Ken Bradley, Cathy Beaudoin, Tim Gels, Taron Sutcliffe, Michele Buzzi, Joe Buttazzoni, and Winnie the guide dog celebrate Eschenbach’s new partnership with Fidelco Guide Dogs.
LAS VEGAS and DANBURY, Conn—In celebration of their 105th anniversary, Eschenbach Optik of America, Inc. has announced a partnership with the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, a leading guide dog nonprofit. The partnership, called the Eschenbach Partner Project, includes Eschenbach’s financial commitment to the breeding, raising and training of one of Fidelco’s elite German shepherd guide dogs. The partnership between Eschenbach and Fidelco hinges on their similar missions: to make life easier, safer and more productive for people with vision problems. While Eschenbach creates vision enhancing technologies, Fidelco trains and breeds exclusively German shepherd guide dogs that help people with low to no vision live safer, easier lives.

Kenneth Bradley, president and CEO, announced the new partnership at Vision Expo West last month, along with three special guests: Eliot Russman, president and CEO of Fidelco, Cathy Beaudoin, a Fidelco Guide Dog user, and Winnie, Cathy’s German shepherd guide dog. Bradley said he saw this partnership as a great way to celebrate Eschenbach’s 150th anniversary of “[helping] people with visual challenges accomplish their goals.”



Eschenbach’s commitment to a Fidelco guide dog is substantial. According to Russman, guide dogs require 15,000 hours of training, which costs $45,000. In fact, guide dogs rack up more training hours than American children spend in school from kindergarten through college. But this is more than just a financial commitment: it is also an emotional one. Fidelco places guide dogs with visually impaired customers at no cost to them—and the effect of that is priceless.

Beaudoin spoke to the importance of Winnie, who is her third Fidelco guide dog, in her life. Beaudoin said, “The quality of my life with the dog is just unbelievably so much better than when I was walking around with a white cane. The cane made people cross the street to avoid me. The dog makes people cross the street to say hello to me, and you can’t put a price on that.”

The Eschenbach puppy is now 4 weeks old, and you can follow his progress at the Eschenbach Partner Project webpage.