Why Morgan Stanley’s Peter Crnkovich decided to take up his firm’s charitable legacy.

In 1997, Morgan Stanley’s Peter Crnkovich was faced with a question many parents dread: “Dad, can I have a puppy?” Little did he know the answer to his then-11-year-old daughter’s prayers would lead him to a longstanding role on the board of The Seeing Eye, a Morristown, New Jersey–based nonprofit that trains canine companions for the blind.

Attempting to placate his daughter, the chairman of Morgan Stanley’s health-care investment-banking unit sought out the charity, which employs an extensive network of mid-Atlantic volunteers to raise would-be guide dogs through puppyhood (about 16 months) until they’re ready for rigorous training. When he agreed to foster Fenton, an eight-week-old golden retriever, Crnkovich, a 52-year-old father of three, intended it to be his kids’ trial run at having a pet. “My wife and I also thought it would be a great way to teach our kids about responsibility and give them a lesson in sacrifice for the greater good,” he says.

While Fenton — who proved too easily distracted to make an ideal guide — has lived with them ever since, the experience left an indelible mark on the senior members of the Crnkovich clan. Now, 10 years later, Crnkovich serves as the chairman of finance and investment of TSE’s board of trustees, part of a longstanding Morgan Stanley tradition: The firm has had a presence on the organization’s board since founding partner Perry Hall joined it in 1935.

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