Cat helps blind dog

[Marilyn. 340]

Cashew, the 14-year-old lab is blind and deaf. Her best friend is 7-year-old Libby, her seeing-eye cat. Libby steers Cashew away from obstacles and leads her to food. Every night she sleeps next to her. The only time they are apart is when Cashew goes for a walk. Without this cat, Cashew would be lost and very, very lonely. Amazing but true: this is one animal that knows what needs to be done and does it day in and day out for her friend. - - Terry Burns

That’s an absolutely amazing story. I’m currently raising Stetson to be a Seeing Eye Dog for Guide Dogs of America. He will be trained and hopefully someday become a full fledged guide dog. However, this cat has taken it upon herself to step into the role of Seeing Eye Cat. So, I guess it’s true that some animals choose to and enjoy working as assistance animals. Libby proves it by helping her friend Cashew day in and day out.

http://myworldsazoo.wordpress.com/2007/11/...shew-and-libby/

[o0pink0o 3]

aww! so sweet

[Niels Bohr 72]

I don't believe it. Show a video that this is true! Sometimes people exaggerate, so it is hard for me to believe. This doesn't mean that it's impossible.

Edited December 7, 2008 by Niels Bohr

[Marilyn. 340]

Meet the ASPCA Cat of the Year

catIn 1998, a six-week-old kitten abandoned in a pet store was found to be so severely malnourished that a veterinarian warned she was unlikely to survive. She was taken home by Terry and Deborah Burns of Middleburg, PA, who soon discovered that her rough start would not deter this intuitive little feline—whom they named Libby—from performing a very special task.

In her new home, the kitten met the Burns’s seven-year-old Lab/shar pei mix, Cashew. Terry Burns remembers how their relationship began: “Cashew would poke her head into the kitten box for nuzzles, seemingly just to let Libby know that she wasn’t alone.” The two spent the next seven years together.

By the time Cashew was 13 years old, she’d lost the use of her eyes and ears. Libby, who’d had no training as a therapy pet, began to care for her friend. She guided Cashew by the shoulder to her food and water dish, through doorways and to her dog crate, where the two slept together. If Cashew walked too close to the furniture, Libby would immediately position herself between the canine and the item to keep her from colliding. “Libby was also protective about people entering their sleeping area,” says Burns. “If we came in, she would look intently at us as if to say, ‘Please stay quiet. I just got her settled and sleeping.’”

When Cashew was taken on her daily walks around the property, Libby—who liked to hang out on the patio instead of being indoors—would randomly show up. “It was as if she was checking on us to make sure we were providing proper supervision for Cashew,” says Terry. “After taking a look, she would race back to the house and wait at the driveway for her friend to return.”

When Cashew passed away at age 15, Libby missed her deeply, and continued to sleep in their bed and watch for her return. “The only time they had ever been apart was when Cashew went for her walks,” says Terry.

For being an intuitive and extraordinary guide cat, Libby was named the ASPCA Cat of the Year for 2008, and this ten-year-old tabby shows no signs of giving up her post as caretaker. Burns informs us, “Libby has now moved on to protecting her shy feline sister, Lucy.”

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagen...wsalert102408#3

[SpiritAlight 1]

Thank you so much *Marylin* for finding this gem and posting it.

sooooo sweeeeeeeeeeet and incredible.

[MissStacey 1]

Awwww- so sweet!!

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Sweet

Saludos,

Caro

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

How sweet.