We're all familiar with guide dogs for the blind but what about monkeys for quadriplegia and agoraphobia, guide miniature horses, a goat for muscular dystrophy, parrots for psychosis and any number of animals for anxiety, including cats, ferrets, pigs, at least one iguana and a duck?
The Americans With Disabilities Act (A.D.A.) requires that service animals be allowed wherever their owners want to go. But now the United States government is considering a proposal that would force people to give up their nontraditional service animals because a growing number of people think the whole thing has gotten out of control.
Rebecca Skloot, a freelance writer, has done extensive research on this topic. See her post at
Culture Dish, and read the article she wrote for
New York Times Magazine.
A recent example of this issue is
the story of Estelle Stamm, of New York, who claims her 120-pound dog is protection from childhood memories of sex abuse. Stamm won $10,000 from the city after two cops gave her a ticket for bringing the pony-sized dog into a subway station.
Now she's going for $10 million in a federal suit that argues Wargas, her service dog, is protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Transit lawyers have recently taken the position that Stamm - who has been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder and has partial hearing loss - is not really disabled.
Stamm said her stress disorder causes extreme fear of danger, severe depression and confusion. The dog keeps her "in the present," warns her of sirens and horns, and provides a large, furry barrier in crowded places, she said.
When the Cape Government Railways opened the first railway line to Port Elizabeth from Cape Town during the later part of the 1800’s the town Uitenhage was established. The railway station became world renown when the local railway guard James Edwin Wide had a working baboon Jack the Signalman that assisted him in his daily tasks.
Wide had lost both legs in an accident when fell underneath a moving train. His determination and his perseverance forced him to make his own pegged-legs from a piece of wood that was strapped onto his lower half of his body. He also made himself a trolley with an intricate hand apparatus that made him a little more mobile.
Wide acquired a young baboon, named him Jack, and proceeded to train Jack to perform all the duties required to run the station. Not only did Jack get his monthly rations from the government but he also received an employment number.
During 1890 Jack got sick and contracted tuberculosis and died, Wide was inconsolable to the loss of his friend as they were inseparable. Jack’s skull is on display in the Albany Museum in Grahamstown.
Source(via
Culture Dish)
Photo Source
A very touching slideshow from the
New York Times:
Dogs Serving Veterans.
Pictured here: Sue Downes, 28, was deployed to Afghanistan as a military police officer when she lost both legs in an explosion in 2006. Through the Neads (National Education for Assistance Dog Services) Canines for Combat Veterans program, she was paired with Lila in 2007.
The dog has become a loving and intuitive companion, helping Ms. Downes walk and deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.
"She helps me with a lot of stress issues, which I didn't expect her to do," she said.
See more photos of veterans and their companion helpers.
Source:
New York TimesPhoto: Winthrop Handy
Are you an artist, or an artistic person, close to Erie, PA? Want to try your hand at fire hydrant decorating?
Therapy Dogs United, Inc. is proud to announce its partnership with the Erie Water Works to bring "
Spray on the Bay" to Downtown Erie. This is Erie's first-ever beautification project that will transform the city's system of fire hydrants into decorative art. If you're an artist, and would like an application, call their office today, at (814) 456-DOGS! Hydrant designs will be sponsored by local businesses. For a pricing schedule, call or Email
pat@therapydogsunited.orgOscar the Grouch (shown above) was painted by local artist Ben Raymond. You can see Oscar for yourself - he's located at the corner of West 5th and State Street in front of Al DeLuca's Variety. Oscar was sponsored by Werkbot Studios - an Erie-based web design and host company (www.werkbot.com)
There are 20-25 dogs based throughout Helmand province in the south of Afghanistan where British troops are based.
Most are German Shepherds, Labradors or Spaniels. They may look cute and friendly, but these animals have a deadly job - sniffing out roadside bombs, and chasing and catching Taleban fighters, alive.
One sniffer or protection dog along with their handler can do the job of "four-six men" on the ground, meaning that those men can be deployed on other tasks.
Source:
BBC
The Central Vermont Community Land Trust usually has no objection to a service animal moving into its apartments.
But Patty Cooper's service animal is a horse of a different color: a black and white miniature horse, to be exact.
The nonprofit housing group is trying to figure out whether it can accommodate the disabled woman's new companion amid concerns about the horse's need for grazing space and whether it will be adequately housebroken.