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Amazing! Animals in the news
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Just ask any pet owner if they think animals are intelligent, and you are sure to get a resounding “YES!” But when it comes to the extent of an animal’s keen senses and intellectual abilities, the evidence indicates that we’ve only begun to scratch the surface. Some of the most intriguing news stories in recent weeks stem from these mysterious abilities.
Have you ever heard of a guide horse? 
Scout, a brown and white pinto miniature horse is just one of the seeing-eye horses to be trained by the Guide Horse Foundation. This unique organization offers guide horses to a small group of handicapped applicants every year. The Guide Horse Foundation was started in 1999 in response to the shortage of guide animals available to the blind. Miniature horses were chosen for their strength, docile nature, long lifespan, and excellent memory. Since then, the program has been successfully employing thousands of guide horses throughout the United States.
Although he stands only a few feet tall, Scout can do everything a guide dog can do. He can easily maneuver through the streets of New York, onto escalators, up stairwells, through the airport, and do it all with his handler safely at his side. And even more amazing is that Scout is house-trained!
What about a Life-Alert dog? 
AJ, is a 2-year old Golden Retriever who dedicates his life to watching over his owner, Tony Brown-Griffin. Tony suffers from severe epileptic seizures that constantly endanger her life. AJ has learned to predict when an episode will strike. He will run over to warn her ten minutes beforehand so she can make sure her children are safe. If she doesn’t regain consciousness, her faithful companion AJ knows to press a button on her telephone that immediately alerts emergency personnel to send an ambulance.
Can you believe a cat doubles as hospice nurse? 
In Providence, Rhode Island, Oscar the cat has quite the reputation. Not just once, but more than 25 times this impressive feline has alerted hospital staff to a patient’s room hours before their death. He has created a very important job. When Oscar gives the cue by first sniffing, then sitting alertly at a patient’s door, nurses will immediate contact the resident’s family so they can be there in their loved one’s last moments.
And rats can find land mines? 
In Bogotá, Columbia, a special police force has been training rats to detect live land mines. The rats detect them by smell and freeze to indicate when they find a live one. If you’re skeptical that this can be done, reports indicate a 96 percent accuracy rating. Why rats? Unlike dogs, the rats weigh less and so don’t trigger the mines they are working to find.
There is a fine line between where animals are in our care, and we are in theirs. The more we begin to understand their unique capabilities, the more obvious it becomes that we have so much left to learn. If nothing else, these stories highlight the change that takes place when humans rely on another species to look out for our own best interest.
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