Helping Hands

Yesterday I met a capuchin monkey named Gregory. He came to visit a linguistics class taught by one of my colleagues. Gregory has been to Monkey College and is trained to assist a disabled person but is retired due to health problems. In college he learned to cook food in the microwave, serve it, wash a human's face, brush a human's hair, and fetch and carry objects. He has a 500 word vocabulary and can provide love and companionship for 20-30 years.

I had never heard of this wonderful program, but if you would like to learn more visit Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled. There is also a nice article in in Greater Boston: Monkeys Assist Disabled.

If you are looking for a charity to donate to this Christmas, this is a worthy cause!