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Believe In Magic
Back in September 2009, AARP launched a search to find America's most heroic pet.
The winner — a miniature, blue-eyed therapy horse named Magic — had
inspired Kathleen Loper, an assisted living resident, to speak for the
first time since arriving at the center three years before. "Isn't she
beautiful?" Loper asked. The staff at the assisted living center watched
in amazement as Loper continued to talk. "The connection she had with
Magic was magical," said Ann Marie Malave, a coordinator at the center. A
local reporter and photographer covering a story about therapy horses
documented the event. Before Magic left that day, Loper asked, "Will she
come back again?" She’s been talking ever since.
Four-year-old Magic continues to transform lives in north Florida. She visits hospitals and hospice programs; makes appearances at libraries and schools as part of a literacy program named in her honor; and helps police with community outreach programs in crime-ridden neighborhoods. But since winning our contest, she’s gained a new level of fame. Newspapers and websites from around the world — including Pakistan, Thailand and Latvia — have written articles about her, and she stars as the main character in a children’s book that will be published in October. Proceeds will help support at-risk readers in early childhood literacy programs and a nonprofit school for children with autism.
"She now gets hundreds of e-mails from children who want to see her," said Debbie Garcia-Bengochea, one of Magic’s handlers. "For many, it’s their final wish." Debbie and her husband, Jorge, founded and run the nonprofit Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses and visit as many people in need as they can. It’s a second career for both of them; she was a school principal, he worked in real estate. After adopting three young boys with a history of trauma, the couple, now in their fifties, looked to therapy animals for help. "We started with a regular-size horse and quickly learned that a larger, more powerful horse can seem daunting to a young child, an elderly person or someone with a disability," said Debbie. "When I saw my first miniature horse, I knew we could do something different."
Like their other 27 miniature therapy horses, Magic is housebroken
and has been trained to walk up and down stairs, ride in elevators and
stay calm around loud and unexpected noises. But the Garcia-Bengocheas
say there is something special about Magic. She was with a patient as he
awoke from a coma and with another who peacefully passed away with his
hand resting on her head. She recently spent time with a boy who had
just learned his cancer had returned and a woman who hadn’t been out of
her room in months. "Magic will meet everyone but then really wants to
spend time with a certain person," Jorge said. "She always seems to find
the person who needs her the most."
When Magic visits, "children don't think about being sick," says handler Jorge Garcia-Bengochea. — Jennifer Anfinsen
