Who needs a real, robotic or tamagotchi pooch when you can have a virtual dog?

[Via Fresh Creation]

So 3 dogs and a rabbi walk up to an ATM. . . Sorry, I’ve always wanted to start a story out like that.

No these pooches aren’t robbing their owners nor have they figured out another ATM hack. They’re part of a group of assistance dogs trained to use the ATM, yes THE ATM! Unfortunately they don’t enter in your pin number. That you’ll have to do yourself, but they do insert the card and take the money out with their mouths.

It takes 2 years for Canine Partners to train the 30 dogs that enter the program every year. When they graduate, they’re brought to disabled people whom are confined to wheelchairs for life.

The program all started when a Gulf War veteran struggled to take money out from the ATM when his dog, Endal, instinctively jumped up and pulled the money, card and receipt out with his mouth. The feat earned Endal the Millennium Award in 1999 and kick started the training program at Canine Partners.

[Via Metro UK]