Vermont Woman Wants Horse As Service Animal

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Vt. Woman Wants Horse As Service Animal

By DAVE GRAM

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iJYdFIxBym30J11CeuXXbKoeJE6AD8SCIB

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WARREN, Vt. (AP) — The Central Vermont Community Land Trust usually

has no objection to a service animal like a seeing-eye dog moving

into its apartments. But Patty 's service animal is a horse of

a different color: a black and white miniature horse, to be exact.

Now the nonprofit housing group is trying to figure out whether it

can accommodate a disabled woman's new companion, with its need for

grazing space and questionable housebrokenness.

" ly, it's a bit unique, " Preston Jump, executive director of

the Land Trust, said in an interview.

, 50, has a severe case of celiac disease, a disorder in which

exposure to a protein called gluten destroys the ability of the

small intestine to absorb nutrients. One result can be brittle

bones, and has used a wheelchair since she broke her back for

the second time four years ago.

Earl, short for Early to Rise, is a 1-year-old miniature tobiano

pinto horse that weighs about 100 pounds and is 32 inches tall at

the shoulder — just the right height for a frequent face-to-face

nuzzle with as she sits in her wheelchair.

Earl isn't living with yet, but she visits him daily at the

farm where he is recovering from his recent gelding. It's clear a

bond has developed in the few months since she bought him.

" This guy just makes me so happy whenever I'm around him, "

said. " I'm not lonely any more. "

Her plan is to attach shafts extending from Earl's harness to her

wheelchair. " He'll be able to pull me back and forth to the bus stop

and pull me to town. After he's trained he'll be able to go on the

bus with me under ADA laws. "

The ADA is the Americans With Disabilities Act, the federal law

requiring entities that provide public accommodations, like the Land

Trust, to make reasonable efforts to accommodate people with

disabilities.

got a letter last week from the operations manager of the 24-

unit housing complex where she lives expressing worry

about " possible health and safety issues. So, can you tell us how

you intend to dispose of the pony's waste? Is the pony housebroken?

If he is house-trained, who is going to pick up after him outside?

" What does this animal require for food? " it continued. " If it is

hay and grain, as I suspect, where and how do you plan to store this

food so that it will not attract rats or otherwise become a

potential health risk to the other residents living in this complex? "

It went on to say it was investigating whether a 4-by-6-foot stall

had built in her living room for Earl constituted an

alteration and therefore a lease violation. called that " a

veiled threat of eviction " on a blog she's been maintaining about

the issue.

This week, both and the Land Trust were taking a more

conciliatory tone. " I don't have any problem with the Land Trust, "

she said. " I think they do very good work in the community " by

providing affordable housing for low- and moderate-income people.

For its part, the Land Trust issued a statement in response to press

inquiries. " CVCLT's policy is to make every effort to accommodate

the specific needs of our disabled residents, including making

allowances for service animals when the service to be provided is

reasonably related to the disability at issue, " it said.

" Due to the unusual circumstances associated with housing a pony in

an apartment setting, " it added, " careful review and consideration

is being given to this request in order to determine whether this

animal can reasonably address the specific needs described by this

resident while assuring the overall welfare of both the animal

involved and neighboring residents in the apartment complex. "

said she already had tried to respond to some of the Land

Trust's worries, installing a rubber mat at the base of the stall,

which she says didn't require any apartment alterations, as well as

rubber-backed carpeting in case of an accident before Earl can make

it outside. She said she was talking with a neighbor of the

apartment complex about grazing space on that property.

" I'm confident it's all going to work out, " she said.

One benefit of a horse versus a dog is a longer life span. Tippy,

the mixed-breed dog who was 's previous service animal, died

recently. " I don't want to have to go through this again in 10

years, " she said. " Earl will live at least another 50 years. I'll

still have him when I'm 100. "