A Service Rat

Among the many blessings of RantWoman's life are frequent opportunities to talk about service animals. RantWoman notes the following without further comment.

Oh wait, this is RantWoman and OF COURSE there are comments:

Kudos to the town of Hesperia CA for passing an ordinance which exceeds the requirements of the ADA for one of its citizens. But what if the citizen has occasion to travel outside Hesperia?

RantWoman can certainly think of more romantic contexts for having her neck licked than nerve damage which prevents one from feeling muscle spasms. Owww! RantWoman also trusts that the effects in this case more than make up for having to carry around a rat and explain over and over again to baffled onlookers.



Subject: Pet Rat as Service Animal....

HESPERIA, Calif. (KABC) -- A woman in Hesperia has won the right to bring her pet rat with her shopping and into restaurants. The rat performs a very important function.


Dani Moore suffers from spinal nerve damage. She gets muscle spasms and needs to take medication. Because of the nerve damage, she doesn't feel the spasms.

That's where the trained rat comes in. He does feel the spasms and warns Moore by licking her neck.

"He alerts me to spasms in my neck and shoulders. I have nerve injuries so I don't feel them until they get really bad," said Moore.

The Americans with Disabilities Act has a section on service animals. It's mostly about seeing-eye dogs.

The city of Hesperia recognized Moore's situation and passed a special ordinance granting her pet rat all the privileges of seeing-eye dogs.