Blind Man to Get Seeing Eye Miniature Horse
Being blind brings on its on set of complications, but if you add the fear of dogs to the equation, you've got a real problem. Who or what can help you get around and help you establish some independence?
Lancashiretelegraph in the UK tells us the story of 23 year old, Mohammed Patel, who is legally blind. And because he has a major phobia of dogs, he can't use a guide dog to help him navigate the streets in England.
So, he's getting help in the form of "Digby", the seeing eye miniature horse! How 'bout them apples! A seeing eye horse, standing slightly over two feet tall, who's small enough to also help Patel around the house. Who knows, he might even sleep in the bed with him?
Apparently, Digby is being trained here in the US and he's got a long way to go, so it could be a couple of years before Patel will get to adopt him, but he's thinking this will be a perfect solution because he's always had a special place in his heart for horses.
And from what the website is reporting, we might be seeing a lot more of the seeing eye mini-horse thing in the next few years as there are about 14 of them being trained in the US now for people with vision impairment or severe allergies. And besides the benefit of the tiny frames of these horses, they also live a lot longer, with some living as long as 50 years.
Oh, and yes, part of their training does included "potty training."