Animals That Help Blind People

For decades, guide dogs have been a common sight in public places, assisting the blind and visually impaired with the tasks of daily life. Although dogs have traditionally been the only animals used for this purpose, other animals such as miniature horses are now also being trained to help the blind and disabled, both for guiding and for other tasks such as assisting with medications and even alerting to seizures.

Guide Dogs

• Many breeds of dogs are trained to guide the blind, helping with increased mobility and daily living tasks. Intelligent and trainable, dogs do their work in settings ranging from subways to airplanes and restaurants to offices. They act not only as guides, but also as protectors, defending their owners from threats such as aggressive dogs or muggers. Given the lifespan of most large dogs, a guide dog is usually retired from service at the age of 7 or 8, which means a blind individual may go through the training and placement process several times.

Guide Horses

• An alternative to the guide dog is the miniature horse. Horses are not predators and are naturally mild-mannered with a lifespan of around 30 years, so they can be a workable alternative to the guide dog, according to the Guide Horse Foundation, which trains and places guide horses. However, the use of guide horses is not without controversy; both miniature horse rescues and guide dog trainers voice concerns about the safety of guide horses, citing the natural tendency of horses to run when frightened and their limited depth perception.

Other Assistive Animals

• For other needs such as seizure monitoring or even keeping someone calm in stressful situations, other animals can assist the disabled, including the blind and visually impaired. A 2009 New York Times article discusses how the definition of an assistive animal continues to evolve, with animals such as monkeys and parrots being trained to help those with hearing loss, seizure disorders or limited mobility.