Abstract

The purpose of the investigation was to phenomenologically describe the transformative nature of the guide dog-owner relationship. Although the primary focus was on the individual's experience of change in terms of self, world, and other, consideration was given to the dog and how it is illuminated by the relationship. ;A theoretical integration of sociocultural, historic, literary, linguistic, clinical and medical literature provided a hermeneutic base from which to understand the meaning of blindness. Empirical-Phenomenology was then used to reveal the blind person as Mitsein, existing in the space of the world as an embodied Dasein. In addition, the existential status of the guide dog was discussed in light of Heidegger and his critics, ultimately revealing the dog as Dasein's embodied kin, a living essence, and a world-disclosing partner. ;Data were gathered from three women who had varied histories of use with guide dogs. Individual Phenomenal Descriptions were analyzed into meaning units and were then reconstituted into situated structures. A general structure revealed that ownership of a guide dog involves a dramatic shift in the way a blind person relates to herself, the world and others. This shift may be experienced as either a contraction or an expansion, and is often noticed on one's first solo outing with one's first guide dog. Moreover, transformations of lived experience continue to unfold with each guide dog partnership. ;Expansions are experienced as positive gains by the individual. They may occur while working with the dog or when the dog is out of harness. Contractions occur in those moments when the dog ignores its training. ;Returning to the Individual Phenomenal Descriptions, it became evident that in these moments of expansion and contraction, the dog may become highlighted as an instinctive creature, or as a unique character in its own right. The guide dog is an embodied kin to its owner. And, like its owner, it shapes and is shaped by their relationship