Creature Comforts - monkeys for quadriplegics, parrots for psychotics and an assistance duck...

[groovedaddy]

ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT IN A SUBURB of Albany, a group of children dressed as vampires and witches ran past a middle-aged woman in plain clothes. She gripped a leather harness — like the kind used for Seeing Eye dogs — which was attached to a small, fuzzy black-and-white horse barely tall enough to reach the woman’s hip.

“Cool costume,” one of the kids said, nodding toward her.

But she wasn’t dressed up. The woman, Ann Edie, was simply blind and out for an evening walk with Panda, her guide miniature horse.

There are no sidewalks in Edie’s neighborhood, so Panda led her along the street’s edge, maneuvering around drainage ditches, mailboxes and bags of raked leaves. At one point, Panda paused, waited for a car to pass, then veered into the road to avoid a group of children running toward them swinging glow sticks. She led Edie onto a lawn so she wouldn’t hit her head on the side mirror of a parked van, then to a traffic pole at a busy intersection, where she stopped and tapped her hoof. “Find the button,” Edie said. Panda raised her head inches from the pole so Edie could run her hand along Panda’s nose to find and press the “walk” signal button.

Edie isn’t the only blind person who uses a guide horse instead of a dog — there’s actually a Guide Horse Foundation that’s been around nearly a decade. The obvious question is, Why? In fact, Edie says, there are many reasons: miniature horses are mild-mannered, trainable and less threatening than large dogs. They’re naturally cautious and have exceptional vision, with eyes set far apart for nearly 360-degree range. Plus, they’re herd animals, so they instinctively synchronize their movements with others. But the biggest reason is age: miniature horses can live and work for more than 30 years. In that time, a blind person typically goes through five to seven guide dogs. That can be draining both emotionally and economically, because each one can cost up to $60,000 to breed, train and place in a home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/magazine/04Creatures-t.html?th&emc=th

[shraby]

1. Thank you for posting this..it was a good

in depth article. Hopefully it will help the disabled.

[groovedaddy]

2. You're welcome! The relationship between humans and the animal kingdom

never ceases to amaze me!

[fed_up_mother]

3. Interesting article.

At the very least, all service animals should be house broken, and can you really house train a duck?

[Quantess]

7. That was my immediate thought, about the guide horse.

I have never met a housebroken horse, but that's amazing if they can be trained to "hold it" until they get outdoors.

[supernova]

4. These animals are so sweet

so loving and patient to their humans. Sadie is a wonder.

And I can see how it would be a dilemma to businesses that depend on being hygenic to have to accept a lot of different animals over the course of a day or week.

But the phrase "service duck" makes me giggle. Sorry. :D

[mopinko]

5. i'm counting on my gray to help me out when i am old. the lory will

no doubt be nothing but trouble! kaya will be very happy when i have little to do but spend time with her. seriously, sophie may be a great helper. it is just that she i also a great biter. she gave me a good one on the nose just the other day.
honestly, they are both pretty young, and should be there to help me out when i start to lose it. which, i think, started yesterday.

[uppityperson]

6. That is a very interesting article. Thank you for posting it.

When my big old dog dies I will need to get another for doorbell purposes and, eventually, safety if my hearing goes bad enough.

Using a miniature horse makes sense for some, interesting.