Category: Animal House
I don't buy it the poor blind bit doesn't cutt it with me. The sad part is this woman girl what ever you want to call her lives in the same city as me. Maybe I'll go meet her at wallmart.
Hope remains for helper horse
By MATT FRAZIER
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Fort Worth Star Telegram - Fort Worth,TX,USA Fri, Aug. 03, 2007.
WHITE SETTLEMENT -- When Tabitha Darling is sick, Trixie stands by her side.
When Darling is in trouble, Trixie makes her feel safe. When Darling is tired from work, Trixie carries her home.
Or that's the way it was until four months ago, when the pair were kicked out of their 615-square-foot apartment in White Settlement.
Darling, 23, who is legally blind and has epilepsy, slept in the apartment's eating area.
Trixie got the bedroom. She's a 12-year-old, half-Shetland pony, half-Appaloosa horse who stands about 4 feet tall at the shoulder and weighs between 500
and 600 pounds, Darling said.
She is Darling's service animal.
"She is my eyes and ears, and my legs. She does what guide dogs do, but a little bit more," Darling said this week. "Dogs aren't trained to be in traffic.
When I have a seizure, she is trained to stay calm."
Last year, Darling got a sales job in the electronics department at the Wal-Mart at
9500 Clifford St. in far west Fort Worth, just blocks from the Crestview Apartments where she lived. The store built a small pen for Trixie near the parking
lot.
"She needed a place to park her vehicle, which happens to be a horse," said Wendy Ruby, store manager. "We normally take care of our associates, and she
is one of my best associates."
But back home, the horse's waste had infused the apartment with such a stench that the unit still cannot be rented, according to the manager.
Thanks to a donor who heard about Darling's eviction, a deal is expected to close soon that will allow her and Trixie to live together --inside -- again.
The new dwelling "will be close enough to Wal-Mart to ride Trixie to work,"
she said.
A horsey mess
Although it has been four months since Trixie was in the apartment, manure stains are still evident on walls and floors. Three horse-haunch shapes are pushed
through the drywall of the bedroom.
"You wouldn't believe what we took out of that apartment," said Karen Stephens, co-manager of the complex on
Emerald Crest Drive. "We had many complaints about the smell and the flies.
"I don't think it was a good living condition for anyone, not for her or the horse."
Darling said she told the complex about Trixie before they moved in, but Stephens said she was expecting a miniature "seeing-eye" horse. Instead they got
Trixie.
Keeping a pony indoors is not a problem if a veterinarian says the horse is healthy, said Nancy Harborth of the Lone Star Pony Club in Kingsbury; they are
social creatures.
But "if there is manure in the apartment, then that is absolutely not acceptable," Harborth said. "It's a health hazard for both of them."
A need for a helper
Born with epilepsy, Darling moved with her family to Alaska from California at age 3. By then, Darling says, she was legally blind.
"Everything is blurry," she said.
But she can see well enough to get around. As a teenager, she says, she raked yards, pumped gas and worked for a company that built and sold log cabins.
At 18, she moved to Idaho and began taking classes at Boise State University's Canyon County campus in Nampa. Taxis were expensive to take to class every
day, so Darling began looking for cheaper transportation and a guide animal.
In nearby Oregon, she found Trixie.
But Nampa had outlawed riding horses on city streets. People complained that Trixie was a hazard and that Darling did not seem to have control of her.
Darling moved with Trixie to Texas in 2004.
Different recollections
Although Darling calls her a service animal, Trixie didn't come with certification papers. Darling says that's because no organization certifies ponies
for such work.
Nevertheless, Crestview management let the horse move in. After a while, Stephens said, they offered to have the apartment cleaned, painted and repaired
and to build a small outdoor pen for Trixie.
But Darling said she didn't want Trixie to live outside where she would be vulnerable to animals or mean people. And she said the complex never offered
to paint, clean and repair.
"We never even discussed that," she said. She says she cleaned out the apartment twice a day during the six months she lived there. "I would've paid for
it. They didn't want a pony around, period."
Not true, Stephens said. Eviction came because Darling refused to compromise.
"I hated that we had to do that," Stephens said. "We prayed for her. I'm glad she's found a place to live."
Donor to the rescue
Darling's eviction made television news. A viewer decided to donate a house.
"I saw her on TV when she was getting kicked out," said the donor, Penny Gould. "It really broke my heart."
Now, Gould said, the insurance company she works for is buying property on
Clifford Street in Darling's name. Once the deal goes through, a foundation must be laid, and the house repaired and moved from Mansfield.
Once she moves in, Darling can ride Trixie to work. And there will be enough room to move Trixie into the house.
Until then, Darling is living with a friend in Bedford. Usually the friend drives Darling to work. Sometimes he drops her off at the stable in White Settlement
where Trixie is housed so Darling can ride to her job.
"There is still a lot that needs to be done," she said. "I'm trying not to get too excited."
Matt Frazier, 817-390-7957
mfrazier@star-telegram.com
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/189859.html
Utterly stupid, she shouldn't be allowed to keep the hourse.
riding a horse to work? yes, if it's your only form of transport, but keeping it in a house too? not even seeing eye horses do this. they are kept in yards out the back of the house. horses, even service horses, need stables! wtf was she thinking?
I saw this article last night and was thoroughly disgusted. The best (har har) line in the whole thing was how guide dogs aren't trained in traffic. Uh, isn't that, I don't know, the *point* of a guide dog? The stupidity/insanity of people will never cease to amaze me. Also, where the hell is Animal Control? It is creul to keep a horse inside like that. Even miniature guide horses releive outside. Who is she kidding? She's giving those of us with service animals a bad name.
ah yes, that's what pisses me off the most is it's going to cause the rest of us a problem.
agree with all the previous posts. Horses may live longer, retain more information, and other stuff, but they just don't seem to make good service animals, IMO.
She's giving all blind people a bad name. And I feel sorry for whoever her neighbors will be when she moves. I'm sure the stench will reach neighboring homes if she lets her house get into the same condition as her apartment.
I'm sure a dog could be trained to help her. Sure,she can't sit on a dog and ride it to work, but the article doesn't say anything about her not being physically able to ride public transportation. She is just lazy and wants to be treated special in my opinion. And having her parents name her Darling is her first problem. LOL
I think horses can be good guide animals, but they do need a place outdoors yes.
I agree. The thing that throws her complaints all out of proportion is the bit about manure inside. Even miniature guide horses have to be taken outside to do their business just like guide dogs. If she let her horse do that inside, then that makes me wonder how much she takes care of herself. I don't blame the apartments for kicking her out. And if by "trained in traffic", she means being able to ride her horse to work, that's just ridiculous to say guide dogs can't do it. I'm sure if she really wanted to, she could find a way to get a guide dog who could also act as a seizure dog. It would just take finding the right dog and a bit of extra training. Hey Dawson, I live in the same city too. If I ever run into her, I might just have to have a talk with her.
You do that. and tell her what we all think.
There is so much wrong with her story, it's not even funny. I'm planning to send the man who wrote this story an email telling him what I think and I plan on citing the laws that protect real service animals,--not undocumented ones...this girl is just rediculous!
I know you guys already know this, but I thought I'd post it. Preciosa, you could include in your email to the guy if you wanted.
Taken from the FAQ of the Guide Horse Foundation.
http://www.guidehorse.org/misconceptions.htm
Misconception: Guide Horses must live indoors
While Guide Horses are trained to work indoors while guiding, all Guide Horses handlers are required to have a fenced outdoor area and barn for when their
Guide Horse is off duty. All horses require lots of fresh air, and all Guide Horses live outdoors when not guiding.
Yeah, but the difference here is this isn't even a guide horse, if it were that would be a lot better. but this is a full blown horse.
Guide horses are miniature horses. The tallest they get is 24-26 inches. This horse was four feet tall, was a "rescued" horse (if you can call being forced to live in an apartment being rescued), and from the sound of it, should be retired to a nice farm somewhere with lots of room. Seriously, where is the humane society when you need them?
Should I call them? lol jK
Yeah, I know what you mean. All guide animals are incredable, but this woman is just bonkers. They really should seize that poor horse. She has know right to that poor animal.
Someone who's a zoner and who lives in her town, should call the Humane Society, and show them this article. that'll get their blood boiling. The bit about the condition of the horses living quarters, i mean.
I agree. This is so sad and outrageous. Those of you who live in the same city, really should bring this article, along with the facts about service animals, to the attention of the authorities. This horse is supposed to be a rescued animal? It sure doesn't sound that way to me. The living conditions described are extremely unsafe and unhealthy. I just hope that someone can come into contact with the proper authorities, who can, and will, do something about this. Maybe there should be some sort of petition or something? I'm sure that there are a lot of people out there who feel sorry for this lady, because of the fact that she is legally blind and has epilepsy, but really now. What about the well-being of this horse? I just feel so strongly that the facts and rights of service animals need to be brought to the attention of someone.
hell, it's been all over the local tv news here. You would think that someone would have done something by now.
but, no, guess what, someone donated her a house cause they felt sorry for her getting kicked out of her apartment!
i groomed a falabella horse yesterday, she's about three feet tall, if that and is about the size of a very large dog. she could fit in my house, but she'd need a stable outside if I kept her as a service animal, not that she's trained for this, but she's the right size. this horse in the article is much bigger than that.
Gemini is right, along with all the other posts. This lady is giving service animals a bad name. I can't tell you how many people I've come a cross who think I'm abusing my dog, when I know perfectly well that I'm not. I've even heard of cases where people have tried to take the harness off the dog. I think that's vary rare though. What I'm trying to say though is that people have to stop feeling sorry for people just because they have a disability, and start looking at the hole picture. I know this sounds cruel, but this lady should be arrested, and not be allowed to keep animals any more. If she can treat a horse like this, can you imagin how she would treat a dog?
Here's an old story about miss darling.
This was before she made it to texas.
Blind teen tells Nampa council she needs horse to get around
Some complain about animal in downtown area
Darin Oswald / The Idaho Statesman
Tabitha Darling, 18, who is nearly blind, has a close connection with her pony, Trixi. The two have spent a lot of time together traveling around the Nampa
area. Darling uses the pony to guide her on their trips since her eyesight is poor, but Nampa city officials are concerned about the liability related
to using a horse as a guide.
The Idaho Statesman
NAMPA — Nampa law prohibits people — even blind people — from riding horses on city streets. But a young blind woman who relies on her brown pony says hers
is a special case.
The Nampa City Council this week decided to deny Tabitha Darling immediate permission to ride her horse around town but did agree to take another look at
the city´s rules.
Nampa law prohibits horses on city streets except for special occasions, such as parades.
Darling, an 18-year-old student at Boise State University´s Canyon County campus, had been riding her horse to and from classes until police officers told
her to stop. Darling, who is legally blind, can see well enough to ride the horse but not well enough to drive a car.
Darling had sought city council permission to continue using her pony to get from her home to campus and to other appointments. She said she rides her horse
to make visits to several elderly women and to help another woman who works with injured birds.
“I guess I´ll have to use my dad” to get around, she said. “I can´t depend on him forever.”
Her father, Rob Darling, said the pony — named Trixi — is an “assistive” animal for his daughter, who also has had hip and leg troubles since birth. The
family said Tabitha should be excepted from horse laws the way people with disabilities get exceptions for other guide animals, such as seeing-eye dogs.
The family purchased the horse a couple of months ago. Rob Darling said taxis are too costly — $12 for a trip across town — and the bus route in Nampa doesn´t
get Tabitha close enough to her destinations.
Treasure Valley Transit does have a door-to-door service for disabled people, but riders can use it just once a week and during limited hours. Other services
for the disabled charge about $8 per trip in Nampa.
Assistant Chief of Police Tim Vincent told the City Council on Monday that the department has received several complaints about the pony and the way it
was being ridden.
Vincent said callers reported that the horse had been a hazard on busy streets downtown; that it was being ridden at a gallop; that the rider didn´t seem
to have control of the horse; and that drivers were having trouble seeing the horse when it was ridden at night. Vincent also said Trixi reportedly tore
up grass near public parks and areas.
Safety is a critical issue, Vincent said.
“A horse is not going to mix well with traffic in a downtown area,” he said.
Tabitha Darling said she has changed her route to stay away from busy streets and only occasionally lets Trixi speed to a gallop to blow off steam.
Rob Darling said government attorneys in Washington, D.C., who deal with the Americans with Disabilities Act told him that horses have been allowed as assistive
animals in other places, including Atlanta.
“They said it´s illegal under federal law for any city to restrict anyone from using an assistive animal,” he said.
On Monday, Nampa City Council members said they were sympathetic to Tabitha Darling´s plight, but wary because the city could be liable in the event of
an accident.
“Perhaps there needs to be some consideration given to rider responsibility,” Councilman Martin Thorne said. “I think legally we need to address if there
is liability insurance available.”
The council asked city staff to look into how other cities have handled similar situations. It also wanted staff to examine safety and liability and possible
routes Tabitha Darling could take around town.
well, just go to google, and put in Tabitha Darling
There's loads of stuff out there.
Wow. This is crazy. Both articles presented here, state that people didnt' think that this woman has control over her animal. There needs to be some serious evaluating here.
Also, yes, horses are being used as assistance animals in other cities, but no one's *riding* those horses. Ugh, seriously, why are people so stupid?
Honestly, I wouldn't take the horse away from the girl, so much as I'd want to make sure she could take care of it properly. It sounds like she probably got the horse, they bonded, and the horse realized she had some issues, and was good with her. However, she and her family went overboard with it, and now are pushing the service animal thing. It sounds like just a horse to me, and the fact that it's easy and convenient for her to ride it makes her and her family believe it's some sort of assistance animal when it is, in actuality, just doing what comes natural to it to do. The service animal term is what bothers me. That'd be like me harnessing up a plain old lab, and insisting that it helps me get places safely and all that other stuff. If she'd stop trying to play that card, I probably wouldn't find the story near as offensive.
The fact that she had it in her apartment with her is just weird to me, especially since she didn't own the apartment, and letting it crap all over the place is just as disgusting.
It just baffles me that persons with legitimate service animals have to fight tooth and nail sometimes to get their rights granted to them, for example, with housing acomidations...and yet, this person, with a improperly trained horse, that is quite probably not being handled and not behaving properly in public (let alone in private), is having a house donated to her!
My own experience with horses is that a lot of them will naturally become very mindful of the person working with them. This is (as someone else mentioned) probably the only thing going for the pair. What I'd like to know is, was this horse actually "individually and spacifically trained to mitigate a disability"? Doe it have tasks and task-relevant commands? Because that's the minimum requirement for a service animal in the US. This is why some seizure alert, and diabetic alert service dogs are having a hard time with recognition because for a lot of these dogs, alerting to seizures and blood sugar was a natural fluke -- not an individually trained task (though, it is possible to incorperate training to change the method of alert, strengthen it, etc., and these sorts of dogs often have other tasks to perform for their handler, so in those cases, it's less of an issue).
Also, it's perfectly legal to deny a service animal team their rights if the service animal is, even at the very least, out of control, disruptive, or creates a fundamental alteration to a business, etc.. This definitely includes deficating in inappropriate places, eating grass from people's lawns or parks, etc.. Even something as simple as a dog barking during a movie at a theatre, the manager has the right to ask the team to leave.
Also, the service animal is the soul responsibility of the handler, if someone gets hurt, or property damaged by their service animal, the handler is the one to be looked at for compensation, etc..
I'd say a wheel chair (if walking is that difficult for her) and a combination service and guide dog would be the way to go for her, but I'm not sure if any organisation would want to place a dog in that sort of environment anyways.
*grumble grumble* The whole thing is ridiculous.
Well, she says it's not certified, and I doubt it's had any training specifically to help her with her disabilities. It just says that the horse remains calm during her seizures. And if she supposedly has enough vision to ride the horse, then it doesn't sound like she's giving it any commands to guide her places. She says no place certifies ponies to do this work and yet she insists that it's a service animal and that they be treated as a working team. I don't know. I think riding a horse so that it can guide you the way a guide dog or horse does is contradictory.
No no...I think she's using the horse in place of a car. In other words, the horse doesn't guide her. She guides the horse, but since they won't give her a license to drive, this is her way of working around it. Somebody buy this girl a scooter, please!
Lol, I agree with the last post.
i don't see the big deal with her riding her horse in public. you guys are making a big deal about this, and crap, how do you think people got around years and years ago? yeah, on horseback. If it works for her and she can get away with it, then more power to her. The only part I question, is how she is taking care of it. The horse should be kept outdoors, where it has room to be a horse. And should be cleaned up after regularly! We hear this may not be happening. But as we all know this is the media, and you can't believe everything you hear or read! I have seen several documentaries on how horses are natural in leading there owners around. There are many blindy's that have horses they have taught to lead them, and use them around on there land. So she's not the first and won't be the last. Like i said though it does need to be looked into and made sure she is taking care of this animal properly!
the odd ball in this board, shea hehehehe
I don't think it's the fact that she's riding the horse we have a problem with. It's the fact that she's trying to pass it off as a service animal when:
1. she's using it as transportation.
2. she is not providing a healthy living environment for the animal. A 4-foot-tall horse should not be confined to a bedroom in an apartment. Horses are natural grazers. They need outdoor space to eat and relieve.
3. She is not controlling the animal. The horse is tearing up parks and lawns, and the owner isn't cleaning up after the animal. If someone with a guide dog did this, the media would be all over how horrible the handler/dog/trainer/organization that gave the dog to the handler was, no question about it.
This woman is playing a major sympathy card, and personally, I don't buy it. Yes, the horse might be a great companion animal for her, but she is not taking care of it properly, and that projects a bad image for those of us who do use service animals and keep their training and handling under control.
I agree completely with what Tunedtochords just wrote. I don't have a problem with her riding her horse at all, it's the other things that I have a problem with.
A skooter's a good idea though, haha.
Ok. But I see Shea's point, too! People rode horses to get around for years, so we could even get more nitpicky and say the issues here amount to control, living arrangement, and claiming the horse is a service animal when it really isn't. Maybe the house they're building for this girl will have suitable quarters for a horse...Even an area off the house wouldn't be such a problem, but until she can get control, yeah, get a scooter!
i believe the article said there would be room inside the house for the horse. bullshit, if you ask me
The proper term for this should be horse shit. This hole thing just pisses me off. She is also playing on the fact that people don't no much about service animals. The whole thing really pisses me off!
wish there was something we could do to get Trixie out of her care.
Usually there is contact info for the author on news articles... I wonder if enough people sent e-mails educating them on all that isn't right with this situation would make a difference at all.
Hopefully, his inbox was flooded with responses to this article.
I've had a few people write me from other lists I am on who were going to write the reporter. I don't know if they did. He might have gotten some e mails from the general sighted public. but besides ignorance I doubt it was much help to us.
now, if I can find some time I plan to write him as well.
Same here. We can't have the public so misinformed about service animals... It makes it tough for the rest of us who are legitimate.
I agree. Can you post any contact information here for all of us who are interested?
Matt Frazier, 817-390-7957
mfrazier@star-telegram.com
this is redeculous! not the riding part, but saying it's a survice animal when clearly it isn't! that would be like me taking my dog and putting it on a harness and saying it's a guide dog, just because she guides me around my own yard! and the "Poor blind person" is another thing that ticks me off! I mean come on!!!
I still haven't forgotten about Trixy. there has to be something we can do.
can't someone call someone about this?
I'm calling right now this very minute. I'm so angry I feel like my blood is boiling.
let us know what happens.