Woman Asks to Keep Horse in Apartment

By DAVE GRAM – 1 day ago

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Patty Cooper's landlord normally welcomes tenants who use animals to help them get around, such as guide dogs for the blind.

So after the disabled woman bought a 32-inch-tall miniature horse to pull her wheelchair, she asked to keep the animal in her home. When her landlord rejected the request, she filed a human rights complaint.

Cooper, 50, paid $1,000 for the 1-year-old gelding named Earl, expecting to use it for trips to the bus stop and into town. The agency that owns the apartment complex in Waitsfield denied her proposal, citing concern about horse droppings, hay storage and lack of grazing space.

Cooper insists the 100-pound tobiano pinto can be house-trained and said it "just makes me so happy whenever I'm around him. I'm not lonely anymore."

The landlord has told Cooper the horse would have to be kept elsewhere — not in the 4-by-6 stall she designed in her living room. For now, Earl is staying at a farm owned by a friend in neighboring Warren, where Cooper visits and trains him.

The case has drawn national attention since The Associated Press reported on it last month as an example of disabled people using animals other than guide dogs for the blind.

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http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h7DTRt3AdG45-yNxIZs2Ah1FG6eQD8SSD6V80

The landlord creep is going to lose everything, gee, that's a shame.

I note the news stories on this always leave out the pertinent details in their headline. They don't say "miniature" horse, just to make sure the woman comes across as a "nut."

Sue the shit out of them. Miniature horse trained (similar to that training applied to dogs) for assistance to the disabled are not new.

and then she won't have to go to CT.

An excerpt:

http://journals.aol.com/midhbarcooper/my-new-service-animal/entries/2007/08/20/why-my-new-service-animal-is-a-miniature-horse/260

I have several reasons for choosing a miniature horse as my new service animal. The most important reason is it will be able to eat a gluten free diet like I do. I have celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis. I cannot eat wheat, rye, barley, and most oats. I can buy gluten free oats. With my service dog it was very hard to feed him a gluten free diet. I went through a lot to be able to have a service dog. I had to have a friend pack up his food for me in servings, so I could feed him. He also would drop crumbs and slobber on stuff, so it was real hard to stay away from gluten. With the mini horse this will be easier. With the help of the grain company we came up with a gluten free diet, and I have modified the diets of my ponies for years now.

Miniature horses can work for many more years then a service dog. It was very hard on me to watch my faithful service dog decline in health after he fell last winter. His death has been very hard on me also. I do not want to have to replace my service animal every 9 years or less.

A miniature horse is stronger than my service dog was. Vermont has some hills! The miniature will be able to make the small hill at my apartment complex. My service dog Tip, had trouble with that hill the last couple of years. I also gained a lot of weight when I went gluten free and after that weight gain pulling my wheelchair got harder for him. Pulling it with groceries was too much.

After Earl learns to pull I will have more independence. I cannot walk to the bus in the winter due to the road conditions at my apartment complex. The town takes good care of the town roads but I live on a private road. Many times after the town roads are drivable, I cannot get to the bus because of ice and snow. I do not drive at all in the winter. With the right shoes Earl will get us to the bus.

One is 31 inches AT THE SHOULDER and the other is 30. If that's a big part of his problem.

And yes, mini-horses CAN be house trained and make wonderful pets, not to mention great assistance animals.

and expect it to live in her apartment complex.