WILLISTON, Vt. — From the time she first heard of the possibility, Judy Zappia has thought a lot about how much a trained monkey could help with the day-to-day tasks multiple sclerosis has made increasingly difficult.
If she dropped a jar of oregano and it rolled under the counter, the monkey would be able to fetch it. If the remote was across the room, the monkey would deliver the device. And if Zappia needed a hug, she hoped the monkey would be able to provide that, too.
Zappia, 58, who relies on a motorized wheelchair to get around, will soon find out exactly what it is like to have a companion monkey.
After initially being denied approval, she has the OK from Vermont Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Wayne Laroche to acquire a monkey from Helping Hands, a non-profit organization in Boston that breeds and trains small capuchin monkeys to work as service animals for patients with limited mobility.
"I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also a little nervous," says Zappia, who hopes to get her capuchin monkey this month.
No comments:
Post a Comment