Service Rat Licks Woman When It’s Time to Take Meds
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A California woman says she is able to stay healthy, thanks to the help of a rat, ABCNews.com reported.
Dani Moore, who lives in Hesperia, Calif., has severe osteoporosis and her service rat, Hiyo Silver, will lick her face when the 56-year-old is about to have a muscle spasm. Moore, who has suffered injuries to her spinal nerves, cannot feel the spasms when they initially come on, and by that time, she could seriously injure herself.
Slideshow: Nature's Doctors
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Since I have osteoporosis, if the spasms get too bad, they can fracture vertebrae, which has happened to me before,” Moore said.
When Hiyo Silver licks Moore, she knows it’s time to take her medicine – so she keeps the rat perched atop her shoulder wherever she goes.
“Before I got my service rat, I would sometimes spend weeks in bed because the spasms would not let up,” Moore said. “I was so much more limited to where I could go or what I could do.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hiyo Silver is similar to a service dog or horse, and studies have shown that animals can sniff out cancer or sense when their diabetic owners are having issues with their blood sugar.
Recently, the city of Hesperia voted to all species of service animals in local businesses, so Hiyo Silver is not banned from any establishments, providing he behaves appropriately.