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Daisie and her owner, Madison.
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Daisie visiting the Amber Ridge assisted care facility.
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WIU Student Madison Andrae and Her Miniature Therapy Horse

March 7, 2019

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MACOMB, IL – Western Illinois University Senior Madison Andrae, an agriculture major from Lynn Center, IL, is the proud owner of a newly registered therapy animal, a miniature horse named, Daisie.

Andrae first got the idea from another owner of a mini therapy horse and began looking into it.

"I began throwing the idea around of getting Daisie registered because she really loves attention and she has such a great personality," said Andrae. "I figured she'd be really good at it since nothing fazes her."

Andrae has been the owner of Daisie for a little over three years, but just got her certification in December 2018.

"She passed all the evaluations with flying colors and only got points off because she likes to lean into whoever is petting her," said, Andrae.

Daisie has only gone on one official therapy pet visit, but Andrae has many visits lined up for the near future, including a visit to campus.

"We visited Amber Ridge, an assisted living facility in the Quad Cities, earlier this year," said Andrae. "My great-grandma is a resident there so that's how we were able to do that visit."

Andrae described her visit to Amber Ridge as a rewarding experience.

"Some residents weren't really interested in visitors, but as soon as they saw Daisie, their faces lit up," Andrae said. "A couple of residents had even been the owners of horses in the past. It was cool the hear their stories."

The pair are planning to continue their visits for the foreseeable future.

"I enjoy sharing Daisie with people and being able to see people's moods change when they interact with her is such an amazing experience," said Andrae. "I can't wait to take her to visit more people soon."

For more information about Daisie and Madison, visit their Facebook page, Daisie's Crew, or email Madison-andrae@hotmail.com.

Posted By: Kayla M. Harrington (WIUnews@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing