[nagdu] Fw: Breaking News About DOJ Changes

[Jenine Stanley]

I still can't come down one way or the other on alternative service animals,
but I have known cats who could definitely be OK in public. 

My grandmother had a Maine Coon cat who weighed around 25 pounds. She got a
dog's walking harness, like you'd use for a small dog, and taught the cat to
walk on leash. She took it everywhere. The cat was a frequent site at the
Canton Ohio outdoor symphony concerts, so much so that when my grandmother
died and the cat no longer went to the concerts, we got a card from the
orchestra. He didn't really have any function per say and wasn't exactly a
friendly cat, but he was certainly quite well behaved in public. She only
took him into a few businesses, mostly local people she knew. One of his
favorites though was the laundry mat. 

I've raised and bred Siamese and am sure that a couple of my girls could
have done the public access thing and maybe even have been able to do some
rudimentary tasks, but I'm not sure I'd have necessarily wanted them to do
so. 

Our gang now have us quite well trained and since our house is sort of a
senior citizens home for cats, I think we are their service humans. My
current Main Coon Cat would probably eat a walking harness.