Snake on subway might ssssserve a purpose

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New York City’s Police Department Patrol Guide, a thick-and-getting-thicker collection of rules and regulations, has been amended to let officers know that seeing-eye dogs are not the only service animals, Newsday’s Rocco Parascandola reports.

Indeed, a monkey might qualify as a service animal. Or a snake. In an amusing report, Parascandola delves into the Patrol Guide and it rules on service animals.

It is not just the blind who can have service animals, the Patrol Guide now says, but also those with other conditions, including mental disorders. Among other things, a service animal can alert others if its owner is in distress. Or maybe its mere presence helps calm someone prone to panic attacks.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta