Dearborn – Mona Ramouni has been blind since birth, but that hasn’t stopped her from achieving her goals.
Now 28, Ramouni, of Dearborn, has been looking for more independence.
Typically, people who are blind use guide dogs to aid them in their daily tasks, however, Ramouni said as a Muslim she is not supposed to have a dog in her home.
While fighting boredom one day, Ramouni, came across a topic she found interesting – miniature horses as guide animals.
“In the blind community most people know about it, you hear about it. So I had heard about it but didn’t think it was important,” Ramouni said. “In the Muslim community technically you’re not supposed to have a dog in the house. If you can find another way, you’re supposed to try.”
Later, Ramouni began reading about the Panda Project. The Panda Project was Alexandra Kurland’s story of training a mini horse for her friend Ann Edie.
Ramouni began e-mailing people involved with miniature horses as guide animals. She was met with some difficulty when she began looking for more information.
“If I find something I’m interested in, they’re going to have to answer my questions,” Ramouni said. “The more people kept discouraging me, the more I pushed. I wanted to see how far I could push it.”
One person Ramouni e-mailed was Dolores Arste, who was involved in the Panda Project.
“She replied, ‘Where are you located?'” Ramouni said.
Arste spends her time between Arkansas and New York and has been training horses or dogs for 35 years – though not usually in this capacity.
“This is the first horse I’ve trained completely as a seeing guide horse,” Arste said.
Arste is the one who found Mexi “Cali” Rose, Ramouni’s guide horse.
“I put the word out to the miniature horse breeders I knew. I needed to find a good horse – a horse with a really good background was important,” Arste said.
Arste said she knew Cali was the right horse when she took her for a walk at a crowded event.
“Cali was completely unaffected by the crowds, children and pictures,” Arste said.
“I really want to become independent, be able to go places, take walks by myself,” Ramouni said. “Not being able to see is crappy. Not being able to do stuff other people take for granted is worse.”
Ramouni looks at Cali as her way to becoming independent.
“I have cane skills, but it’s not the same as with a guide animal. I do not have to hit something to know it’s there. Even my sister runs me into stuff,” Ramouni said. “Walking with Cali was the coolest thing. It felt like I could see.”
Ramouni is employed at two places, where she saved up enough money to pay for Cali’s expenses.
“The only reason I could afford Cali was because I had been saving money. Now I’m at the point where I’m like, ‘I need money,'” Ramouni said.
Cali came to live with Ramouni last week.
“She could live a good 30-40 years, she could live a good long time,” Ramouni said.
To read more about the Panda Project visit www.theclickercenter.com/panda/.
To read more about Cali’s training visit theeyesofmona.blogspot.com.
