The News Tribune Sometime next year, Cheryle King and her guide horse, Cricket, could sit down next to you in the local Denny's. Or get on the bus from King's Gig Harbor-area home to Tacoma. Or walk down the aisles of the local Safeway, shopping for groceries together. No horsing around here. She's such a sweetie.
Cricket leaves for the training next month.
It's not far-fetched at all, said Janet Burleson, who already has trained one guide horse with the help of husband Don. The two have been raising horses for more than three decades. Twinkie, a miniature mare, was their guinea-horse. The couple also is training several other horses for guide duties, including Cuddles, a miniature mare who could become the first of her kind in animal service. She's destined for a blind man in Maine.