Woman asks to keep miniature horse in apartment.
Woman asks to keep miniature horse in apartment.
Wants Animal To Pull Her Wheelchair. Montpelier, VT—Patty Cooper’s landlord normally welcomes tenants who use animals to help them get around, such as guide dogs for the blind.
So after the disabled woman bought a 32-inch-tall miniature horse to pull her wheelchair, she asked to keep the animal in her home. When her landlord rejected the request, she filed a human rights complaint.
Cooper, 50, paid $1,000 for the 1-year-old gelding named Earl, expecting to use it for trips to the bus stop and into town. The agency that owns the apartment complex in Waitsfield denied her proposal, citing concern about horse droppings, hay storage and lack of grazing space.
Janet Burleson, head trainer with the Guide Horse Foundation, said she knew of five blind people who use horses instead of dogs to guide them.
“It’s just like using a guide dog,” she said Monday. “The horse serves the same function—guides the person around obstacles, alerts the person to changes in elevation and oncoming traffic. Horses can be trained to do all that,” Burleson said.
But she said such work horses normally are quartered outside.
“I definitely think she should have the right to choose,” Burleson said. “I would just have some concerns that it may be difficult to keep that horse in an apartment and maintain the proper level of cleanliness.”
Full story: ABC Action News
Maureen Adams
Recent Comments