Animal therapy

When service animals are mentioned, what comes immediately to mind are, of course, dogs. But no matter how diligent and true, even the most eager-to-please canine cannot provide a Sunday afternoon ride through the woods, or fetch your toothbrush. For those tasks, you need a horse or a monkey, respectively.

When Liz Hartel, riding for Denmark, won a silver medal for dressage in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games, it became evident that disabled people could attain a high degree of mastery in that sport. In the 1960’s, therapeutic riding began in earnest in North America; the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association was founded in 1969. Today, there are more than 550 NARHA-affiliated centers putting over 30,000 people with various physical and mental disabilities on the backs of 4,000 horses. The Federation of Riding For the Disabled International was founded in 1980 and, working with the International Paralympic Equestrian Committee (IPEC), advances equestrian sport for disabled riders. With this many dedicated, enthusiastic people working so hard, riding centers can be found from Alaska to Singapore.

impaired can ride, too.

If the disabled person cannot sit a horse, driving or hippotherapy are alternatives. Hippotherapy rehabilitates through the movement of a specially trained horse in the company of a therapeutic riding instructor. Whether driving or riding, the feeling of freedom and accomplishment is most exhilarating. You can reach NARHA by writing to them at PO Box

33150, Denver CO 80233.

Now, although horses are wonderful animals, they’d feel cramped in most living rooms, and, even if they try real hard, retrieving a CD from under the couch is beyond them. But capuchin monkeys are ideally suited to the task. Capuchins (KAP yu chihn) are considered by some zoologists to be the most intelligent New World monkeys. They’re little guys, 17’ long (not counting their tails, which add another 18’) and weigh about 5 pounds, just right for shoulder or lap. They’re either black or brown, with white or beige faces and live in the tropical forests of Central and South America, spending most of their time in trees. Very social animals, they form quite tightly knit groups of five to thirty monkeys, sharing the job of raising offspring. Those who will become helpers to disabled humans are mostly bred for that purpose, with the help of Disney World in Florida and Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, Massachusetts.

Dr. M.J. Willard was a pioneer when she thought of capuchins as a eager pair of hands for paralyzed patients. She and Judi Zazula, now the executive director of Helping Hands, placed their first monkey, named Hellion, in 1979.

These simple things mean a lot to a person confined in a wheelchair. These monkeys perform many tasks for their owners, for instance, getting a snack or beverage, picking up dropped items, and turning on and off lights. More importantly, having a friend available at all hours means as much or more to the recipient as having someone to hand them the remote. The monkeys becomes a combination of a buddy and a child; the relationship will become extremely close.

The criteria for recipients of a monkey are extensive, but fair. They cannot receive a monkey until a year after their accident, secondly, their principal caregiver, who is involved in basic care of the monkey, must agree with the plan, the patient must be at home the majority of the time, and there can be no small children in the house. The recipient must have a functioning electric wheelchair that they can manage competently, and be able to care for the monkey as they would a youngster.

Another group essential to the program are the foster families. People that raise the monkeys have the responsibility of spending up to four years with a young animal whom, in the end, they must give up. It’s very similar to fostering a child; certain standards must be met. For instance, socialization and good manners must be taught as well as the monkey’s physical needs, like diaper changing and bathing. The animal’s food, vet bills, and all incidental expenses (with the exception of transportation) must be paid for by the foster family. The primary care-giver cannot work full-time outside the home (having a helper monky can allow the victim to work from their home), there can be no small children in the family, and expensive bric-a-brac must be relegated to the closet. It is bittersweet, but hugely rewarding in the end, when the monkey goes off to become the dearest friend of someone who badly needs one. And then, what the heck, they already have the cage and the newborn Pampers, they might just as well start all over again.

It’s not cheap, providing helper monkeys estimates to about $25,000 per. But when you consider the number of years the little animal will be helping people, it becomes a sensible investment.

To become a foster parent, or if a helper monkey would change your life, write to Helping Hands, 541 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02134 or call (617)787-4419. If you’re needing a new charitable deduction, keep in mind that this invaluable service is provided free to those who need it and depends completely on private donations.

AxisGears, a Los Angeles-based production company has produced a wonderful television show “Fur, Fins, and Feathers”, all about animal-assisted therapy, the beasties and the people who love and depend on them. The home video can be purchased through Amazon.com. It will give you an understanding of how relationships between humans and animals can abundantly serve each other.