Posted on 07/02/2013 1:01:31 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows
When Robert Sollars of Mesa, Arizona went blind in 2003, Sollars cat, Admiral Kreme, became his seeing-eye cat, helping his owner adjust to his new life.
Sollars, a security consultant, says his loss of sight is due to diabetic [retinopathy] and came upon him quickly. Once his doctor had diagnosed his condition, Sollars and his wife began finding ways to adjust to their new reality.
The Admiral quickly joined in to help. He established himself as Sollars Guardian Kitty, guiding him around the house and helping him navigate. The Admiral would watch and anticipate where Sollars was headed just like a good wide receiver would, Sollars chuckles. Then, the cat would run to the anticipated spot and meow until Sollars found his way.
When Id get up in the middle of the night, hed follow me through the house, yelling at me until I got back in bed, Sollars remembers with a laugh. Although losing his sight was traumatic, Sollars says, It was comforting to have the Admiral with me.
Now 10 years later, Sollars is completely adjusted to life without his eyesight, but Admiral Kreme still takes his job as protector and guardian very seriously. He sleeps by the front door at night and worries about Sollars when he leaves the house. If I take out the garbage or go get the mail, hell meow meow meow until Im back inside, Sollars says.
Sollars runs his security consulting business from home and is even working on a book right now, using a special word processing program. The 15-year-old Admiral is still right there by his side helping him, by sitting on Sollars keyboard or squeezing beside him on the chair.
When the Admiral isnt protecting Sollars or helping him work, hes keeping Sollars abreast of how the pairs favorite football team, the Cincinnati Bengals, is doing. Every Sunday he gets in the chair with me to watch them play football. If they start doing poorly, hell leave the room. Then later, hell come back to the chair to finish watching the game with me!
I do too. Hopefully marriage and attachment to a human won’t take the edge off his investment in the animal experience.
Cat Info: Above the cat's eyes are sensors that can see in the dark because the sensors are heat and infrared sensors. This is an extra sensory facility which wil aid a blind man proceed with more confidence!
I didn’t know he got married!
I honestly can’t imagine his love for animals/cats lessening. I think that’s just a part of him.
He is engaged. You can check the lucky lady out as Minoo Rahbar (AKA “Moobarry”) on Facebook.
Don’t forget the can opener detector, tuna sensor, etc.
I was going to suggest a subsequent headline/first lines of article after they do studies on seeing eye cats:
“Study Confirms Having a Seeing Eye Cat Leads to an Increase in Number of Can Opener Encounters”
Scientific study of seeing eye cats has proven that those reliant on seeing eye cats have a dailiy 800 percent increase in encounters with can openers. It has not yet been determined whether or not this is a random occurrence...
You should apply for a grant.
Nah, then I’d have to be more careful about typo’s on a daylilly basis.
.. and thefreezer door closing. Early in our relationship I allowed my cat Sassie to lick my popsicle. She used to sit on top of the couch by by left ear. I offered her a lcik of my popsicle and for the next 16 years she would come a runnin when she heard fridge door close.
It will be interesting to see at least if as a couple they can integrate their own two sets of cats (3 his + 3 hers + 2 to be incorporated) + 2 dogs because I know he has had issues with that in past relationships. :).
But seriously I have dealt with Minoo a bit in the past with the financial sponsorship of her kitty rescues from around the world and she is definitely one in a million. Extremely sincere and devoted — will keep hubby honest for sure !
I’m not on Facebook, but I googled to see if I could find a pic of her-—no luck, though. I hope they’ll be happy together. Jackson is certainly a kind, sweet man.
I don’t know if you can pull these up on your computer but the first is a speech she gave as Kitten Rescue’s advocacy award winner a couple years ago. The second is a bit of bio on Minoo’s org Puppets for a Better World. Lots of pics but they seem to be trying to disguise things a bit on FB trying to keep the news under wraps, at least for now. If she grows into a more of a public speaker they do definitely be one of the best ever power couple for the kitties. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNgXl7iADNE
http://puppetsforabetterworld.com/about
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