My podcaster persona is taking a spring break to recoup from a hectic schedule. Meanwhile my blogger self will fill the void with interesting animal behavior and human-animal bond articles and links, plus links to past podcasts that add another dimension to the discussion.
Most people recognize that dogs can do an excellent job helping the visually impaired or blind. Many of us even recognize the names of the various organizations that train dogs to perform this service. Consequently an article from the Time.com archives entitled Meet the Award-Winning Seeing-Eye Cat by Eliza Berman caught my attention.
Aside from the crisp black and white pictures characteristic of the now defunct Life Magazine’s photo-essays, the photos of Baby the seeing-eye cat come cloaked in mystery because the story was never published. How did blind Carolyn Swanson come to own him or use him this way? Given the 1947 date on the photos, did it have something to do with WWII? Were there no dogs available for those like Ms. Swanson in the post-war period? Or did she or a friend decide that there was something special about Baby and her relationship with him that would make him perfect for the job?
As of now it appears we’ll never know–unless someone comes forward who knew or knew someone who knew Ms. Swanson and her award-winning seeing-eyed cat. In the meantime I’m content to believe that the two of them experience the kind of mood contagion and empathy discussed in this previous podcast.
Because Bamboo shares some of Baby’s imperious expressions common in felines but not normally perceived as evidence of the kind of strong bilateral bond and empathy seen in an equitable human-canine working relationship, I grabbed my camera and asked him if he might assist me in a similar way should the need arise. Apparently he needs to think about it.