Service animals can work to make life easier for people, from guide dogs to emotional support pets. However, one preschool in New Zealand is thinking pretty far out of that box. Their traffic officer is a chicken. The policing poultry is named Henry, and she’s being used as a sentry for Newstead Country Preschool in Newstead, New Zealand. Farm owner and school principal Tracy Trigg outfits Henry with a fluorescent safety vest and sets her out to wander the parking lot. Because parents dropping off their kids are aware of Henry, they drive slowly and cautiously in the lot, which is the end goal. It helps that the students adore Henry, because with children gathered around her, cars are even more aware of driving slowly. Henry is considered part of the staff, which means she’s allowed in the break room. Trigg says that the thing that amazed them the most is how easy it was to get Henry to wear the safety vest. “We pop it on first thing in the morning and take it off around lunchtime,” said Trigg. “As long as there’s cheese involved, she’s happy to go along with it.”
