[nagdu] . Guide - service parrot.

[Jewel S.]

I think I understand what you meant...everyone is giving it from their
own perspective, but how else should we do it?

Still a bit confused, but oh well,
Jewel

On 7/27/10, Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC) <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com> wrote:
> No, not *you* centric but everybody is wring from their own perspective.
>
> Kind of like the buffets that say "all you can eat" but they don't mean
> "all *you*" can eat.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Jewel S.
> Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 2:33 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] . Guide - service parrot.
>
> Why do you say it is "me centric"? I have neither a cat nor a parrot
> nor a horse for a service animal. The guide cat thought was more a
> dream, would take a lot more work than I can give any time soon. But
> for many people, cats, parrots, and horses are service animals who
> help in their day-to-day living.
>
> I always thought a miniature pony as a guide animal was a neat idea,
> but rather impratical for city living. Rural living, I could see a
> miniature pony being a wonderful guide animal, but in the city, the
> size of the animal and the damage their hooves can cause would make it
> a problem.
>
> I think parrots and ferrets are both good animals for service work,
> though not guide work. Ferrets are very smart critters and very good
> at opening cabinets, handling objects, and could likely press buttons.
> Plus they are very easy to train to routine-relieving, much as a cat
> would be.
>
> I don't see how a snake, iguana, bird (other than parrots, who are
> very smart and trainable), or other non-mammals could make very good
> service animals. I could see how a capuchin would make a good service
> animal, but as DoJ said, their behaviour can be very unpredictable. A
> person could own a capuchin for 10 years without incident, and then
> suddenly the monkey goes nuts and attacks. They are wild animals, even
> when bred in captivity. They are not domesticated. I suppose the same
> could be said about ferrets, but I think they are becoming
> domesticated, slowly but surely.
>
> Restricting service animals to dogs only is not a good idea. What if
> someone is afraid of dogs? Allergic to dogs (even to the hypoallergic
> dogs like boxers)? What if a dog simply can't meet their needs like a
> parrot or pony or cat could? I wonder if they are going to make any
> provisions for people who want to appeal for a special accommodation?
>
> On 7/27/10, Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC) <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com>
> wrote:
>> The thing I find interesting about this discussion is that it is "me
>> centric". Some of you are bummed that cats are no longer service
>> animals. Some feel the same about parrots and some about horses.
> Nothing
>> wrong with any of this, though I do wonder if 100 years ago, people
> knew
>> a dog could be housebroken and I think there is evidence to suggest
> that
>> a dog guiding a person used to be considered downright silly.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Jewel S.
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:41 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] . Guide - service parrot.
>>
>> I could never see a parrot doing effective guide work. I agree, that's
>> just rather stupid. For guide work, a parrot is about as practical as
>> (sorry guys) a toy poodle or chihuahua.
>>
>> But for other purposes, a parrot can do some amazing work, especially
>> working with a deaf person, or for pressing buttons, flipping
>> switches, and the like. A parrot can even draw curtains or open/close
>> blinds. For a paraplegic, I imagine that would be a welcome action for
>> a service animal.
>>
>> On 7/27/10, Ed Meskys <edmeskys at roadrunner.com> wrote:
>>> I had never taken seriously the use of parrots, but this is
>> interesting. I
>>> am surprised at what they have been trained to do. In the science
>> fiction
>>> world I had seen some serious discussion of the high intelligence of
>> gray
>>> parrots.
>>>
>>> Soon after I lost my sight, some 35 years ago, a friend had sent me a
>>> newspaper clipping about a Hollywood animal trainer trying to teach a
>> parrot
>>> to guide a blind person. It was held in a special cage by the walker
>> and
>>> would communicate by ringing a bell or otherwise communicating with
>> the
>>> bearer. The whole concept had struck me as stupid. A guide dog has to
>> walk
>>> andavoid barriers, steps, etc, and is less likely to lose focus and
>> forget
>>> to warn the user. The parrot is just sitting there and has no
>> incentive to
>>> notify the bearer of steps, obstacles, etc. And that is assuming that
>> the
>>> parrot could be trained to respond to al possible obstacles, which I
>>> doubted.
>>>
>>> Ed Meskys
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> ~Jewel
>> Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
>> Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com
>>
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>
> --
> ~Jewel
> Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
> Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com
>
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-- 
~Jewel
Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com