What’s in a name? Everything when it comes to Magno, the young, German Shepherd guide dog puppy that Eschenbach Optik of America is financially sponsoring through its cause marketing partnership with the legendary Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation. The hope is that after two years, Magno, whose name is a play on Eschenbach’s product line, magnifiers, will be placed with a person navigating life with a visual impairment. And Eschenbach wants the vision-care community to follow the puppy on his journey, via the company’s web site and social media accounts. Members of the American Optometric Association and American Academy of Ophthalmology have already participated by being part of a contest to name the dog.

“We believe the magnification and vision enhancing products we sell to our eyecare customers allow them to change the lives of their patients who don’t benefit from standard ophthalmic correction,” says Ken Bradley, Eschenbach’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “For some patients, though, magnification solutions are not enough, and it is through the help of a guide dog that these people’s lives can be dramatically changed. Unfortunately, the sad fact is there’s not enough of these guide dogs to go around. Our hope is that by sponsoring a guide dog we can not only support a good cause, but, by getting our customers engaged in Magno’s training and development, also serve as a reminder to eyecare practitioners of the life-changing impact they can have on their patients.”

Six-month-old Magno will also be introduced at Vision Expo East in New York City at a press conference on Friday, March 22, 2019. Visitors to Eschenbach’s booth (#MS5001) will have an opportunity to meet the special working pup, who by then will have earned his “Red Jacket” which signifies that he has passed the necessary steps in the puppy training program and exhibits the skills to be an official Guide Dog in training.

He is currently being cared for by his puppy raiser family in Connecticut, where he will live for the next year. Funded as part of the Eschenbach Partner Project, Magno’s training will be highly specialized and unique. The pup is the latest in Fidelco Guide Dog’s own bloodline of German Shepherds that share the needed physical and intellectual characteristics and temperament to be exceptional partners. Guide dogs provide increased independence and forever change the lives of individuals who are visually impaired. They not only work as the eyes and ears of their masters, but also provide a protective function as well, creating an elite partnership.

All Fidelco German Shepherd guide dogs undergo a rigorous training program—and Magno is no exception. While living with his Volunteer Puppy Raiser Family he attends weekly puppy training classes at the Fidelco Guide Dogs facility in Wilton, CT. At 16-18 months old, Magno will enter the internationally accredited, six-month guide dog training with Fidelco Guide Dogs professional staff. Upon successful completion of training at 2-years old, Magno will be matched with a visually impaired client in need. “Magno is an adorable puppy whose life and training is being chronicled in social media and, while it’s fun, it’s also reinforcing an important message,” Bradley notes. “We want people to follow Magno all the way through this process and cheer him on. And we hope this effort raises awareness of the benefits of guide dogs to the visually impaired.”

See updates on Magno’s extraordinary journey and learn more about the Eschenbach Partner Project online at www.eschenbach.com/partner_project.asp.