[Nebraska-senior-blind] A Guide Dog, Okay - But a Hawk, a monkey, and a raccoon!

[Barbara Loos]

I had forgotten about this one. Hahaha. 

 

Barbara 

 

From: Nebraska-Senior-Blind
[mailto:nebraska-senior-blind-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Robert Leslie
Newman via Nebraska-Senior-Blind
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2019 1:08 PM
To: 0senior division listserv; NFB Senior Division list
Cc: Robert Leslie Newman
Subject: [Nebraska-senior-blind] A Guide Dog, Okay - But a Hawk, a monkey,
and a raccoon!

 

Hi You All

Found something that may interest you

 

I am still going through past Braille Monitors looking for articles relating
to blindness and aging. And boy. I've seen a  lot of variety in what new
gadgets and/or services are being thought up and tried out as help agents
for the blind. But here is a very short piece out of the 2014 April issue
about some new potential animal helpers for the blind that you may not have
figured on!

 

 

Monitor Miniatures        

 

[PHOTO CAPTION: Barton a Hawk]

[PHOTO CAPTION: George a monkey]

[PHOTO CAPTION: Rocky a Raccoon]

New Service Animals for the Blind

 

Some of you may have heard about the hawk that was loose in the atrium of
the Jernigan Institute back in October. We at the Monitor just received
permission to tell our readers all about it.

Meet Barton, a member of a new experimental guide animal program. We love
our guide dogs, but in today's urban society, there can be some drawbacks:
allergies in the family to dog dander, the difficulties finding an apartment
you can afford with the space for a large dog, not to mention finding a park
or similar place to exercise your canine companion.

With this in mind, trainers have been working with several new animals,
looking for an alternative more suited to modern city living. Barton only
requires a bit of room to stretch his wings from time to time and can ride
on his owner's wrist or shoulder in crowds. He can often scavenge for his
own food, so the owner has one less thing to pack on long trips. 

Also in this program are George, a capuchin monkey, and Rocky, a raccoon.
Both species are smaller, easier to exercise, and are highly intelligent.
Capuchins live thirty to forty years, and raccoons in captivity can live up
to twenty, meaning that they would have a much longer working lifespan,
coming closer to the goal of giving a blind person a guide for life. As an
added bonus, a monkey or raccoon would be trainable in such tasks as handing
you your cell phone, house keys, or other small items.

For more information about the program, or to volunteer to work with one of
these new potential guide animals, contact Ms. April Phules by phone at
(410) 111-1111, ext. 2473 (BIRD) or email her at <gotcha at nfb.org>.

 

Respectfully yours,

Robert Leslie Newman

NFBN Senior Division, President

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