Meet Pickles, a true guide cat who lives in Britain with his owner, Kim Ward. Ward survived a bus crash in 1999, but suffers from seizures as a result. Additionally, Ward began to lose her sight in 2011. Thankfully, Pickles was up to the task of becoming a guide cat.
Ward has been patiently training Pickles to do the tasks that she now needs help doing. Ward taught Pickles commands for sit, stay, wait, and lie down. Then she taught him to bring her items from the home’s second floor. She also taught Pickles to go and sit by her phone when it rings. Ward can’t see the phone well, but Pickles helps her to locate and answer it.
Pickles has another special talent, one which Ward didn’t teach him. He can predict when Ward is going to have a seizure and warns her that it is coming. Pickles runs around, claws furniture, and makes noise to warn Ward, then stays with her during the entire episode.
Clearly, Pickles is a very special cat whose skills rival those of a service dog. While all cats help to make their owners’ lives better, Pickles makes very special contributions to Ward’s life.
