As people get too old, they find it difficult to even do
daily chores at home. Such people especially, require a helping
hand. Animals can be trained to become great domestic help.
Along with helping they also can provide great companionship.
The most preferable pets are dogs. Cats are kept as pets to
provide company to people like senior citizens who are stressed
out or are heart patients, blood pressure patients, so as to
help them beat stress. Even exotic pets such as capuchin monkeys
are trained for this purpose. Not only are they big help for
senior citizens but as well as for the physically handicapped
such as blind people and quadriplegics.
Service dogs are dogs are specially trained dogs for patients
with disabilities. The hearing dog is a special kind of service
dog which are trained to help the hearing impaired and deaf
people. They help by alerting the disabled when it hears
important sounds such as phone rings, doorbells, alarm clocks
and smoke alarms. They are of great help not only within the
house, but also outdoors. They alert the handler when someone
calls out the person’s name, approaching sirens, and forklifts.
Hearing dogs can be recognized by the bright orange leash and
collar they are made to wear. Sometimes they even wear a jacket
or a cape which can be of any color.
Some service dogs are also trained as mobility assistance dog to
help a physically handicapped person. They are trained to open
and close doors, pick up things, and even turn on and off the
switches. Dogs with larger build are also trained to pull
patients in wheelchairs. They do this with the help of a special
harness which facilitates them to pull objects.
They are also trained as walker dogs, which are also nicknamed
as living canes. They help patients with Parkinson’s disease and
other disorders. They assist their owners with the help of their
gait and also provide balance while walking. Incase the handler
falls off, the dog helps to regain position by acting as a
brace. All kinds of mobility assistance dogs are allowed in
areas where pet aren’t allowed, like in public places and
transportations.
Dogs are also trained for assisting people with Type 1 diabetes.
They are service dogs trained to smell the odor changes in the
body which helps to determine hypoglycemia or low blood glucose.
Another type of service dogs is seizure response dog. They help
patients with epilepsy or seizure disorder. They help to seek
help in case of emergency, block the handler with absence
seizures, pull dangerous objects away from the body, and wake up
the unconscious patient. They are also trained to use a
pre-programmed phone. They also provide physical and emotional
support and also carry information about the patient’s medical
condition.
Service dogs are also trained to help people with psychiatric
disabilities such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety
disorder, depressive disorder, autism, and post traumatic stress
disorder. They alert the handler to take medicines, and also
help people having hallucinations, paranoia or alerting
behaviors. They also act as a brace and help to retrieve
objects. Dogs which help the visually impaired people or blind
people are known as guide dogs. They help the handler to walk
around obstacles. But the disadvantage here is that dogs are
partially color blind. They cannot see red and green color, so
they cannot help the blind with traffic signals. They even
cannot be trained to interpret street signs. Guide horses are
also employed to help people who are blind and who do not prefer
guide dogs. The horses are miniature horses. Some people prefer
horses because they live longer than the dogs. Some are also
allergic or scared of dogs. But the advantage of keeping a guide
dog is that they can live within the house, but the horse needs
to be kept in a barn. Also horses cannot travel on public
transportations like a dog.
Capuchin monkeys are also trained by some organizations. They
help the quadriplegics or patients who have paralysis in all
their four limbs. Initially they should be brought up with
people with no disabilities and then after reaching a certain
age; they can be given intense training and then transferred to
the home of the quadriplegic. They can perform tasks such as
opening bottles, microwaving food and they even wash the face of
their owner. They are also very friendly animals and are safe
for kids, too.