ABC's, Tickles

K loves her ABC's - looking at letters and books and singing. K also loves to be tickled. So I have combined her two loves into one. I sing the "ABC's" but I do it this way and K's sing with me:

A b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s ... T is for tickle (and I tickle her) ... u v w x y z ... now I know my abc's next time won't you tickle me (and I tickle her).

And the Winner is ...

Now Saturday when we were looking at dogs the choice was at first narrowed down to Merry (a lab/retriever mix), Shiva (a retriever/dachshund mix) and that was it. On Saturday, I was told that Shiva had heartworms and needed to be kept calm - not a good fit with K. So I was thinking Merry would be a great fit for our family. But the Humane Society was closing and there was no one there that really knew what dogs would be good with kids.

Monday rolled around and I went back to the Humane Society. I looked at the dogs again and in the running was Merry, Scrappy (another lab/retriever mix), Oliver (a beagle mix). These dogs were all under a year old. I spoke with a very helpful woman named Berta. She interviewed me and said that she would prefer to see Merry in a setting with a yard rather then an apartment. This was because Merry would be a big dog and needs lots of room to run and play. I told her whatever dog we choose would be walked several times a day and taken to a local dog park. Berta frowned on that - only because of the apartment living. She brought Merry out to meet me anyway. Merry was a sweet and loving dog, but she had a lot of energy and loves to jump. She loved to jump a little too much, and I know with K that would freak her out. So I had to be fair to Merry and leave her. She is a dog that deserves a big yard to run and play in. It is not fair to any dog not to have a yard to play in.

The next choice was Scrappy. He was vetoed down by Berta even before we got to meet him. This was because he was apart of a pair. The Human Society would not split the pair up ... and I am not ready to own 2 dogs.

The third choice was Oliver. Now I did not see Oliver on Saturday or on Monday when I looked at the dogs. He was not in his cage. I took a chance because I had a beagle mix dog before and she was great! Oliver came out and he was calm. He loved to play and was friendly. He jumped a bit, but he is a puppy. Like the saying goes, three times is a charm and knew that this was the dog for our family.

After work and school, DH and I took K to meet Oliver. K was more interested in the toys then the actual dog at first. DH was happy with Oliver and the deal was sealed. We brought Oliver home Monday night. Oliver was renamed by DH as Snoopy.

Now Monday night, K was excited by Snoopy, but still much more interested in his toys. Before she went to bed, she sat by Snoopy's cage and said "Snoopy goes night-night".

Tuesday night, K sat by Snoopy's cage and was singing to him.

Wednesday morning, she was taking Snoopy's toys and he would chase her in the apartment. He would like her or try to get the toy. K would scream then laugh and then say "K okay" with a big old grin on her face.

Wednesday night, she climbed into the kennel cage and tried to close the door. Also on the way home from school, K was asking for Snoopy.

K is real curious about Snoopy. She will sit by his cage and watch him and talk or sing to him. She is learning to say "Down Snoopy" "No Snoopy". She likes him a lot and she has been calmer in the 3 1/2 days that we have had him. K is still a little nervous around him, but I think that will soon pass.

So the obvious winner was Snoopy - he is overall a loving, friendly, happy, quiet dog.

Future Pup To BE

This was from Saturday/Monday (will post the update later today or tomorrow):

DH and I are looking to get a dog for K. Not a service dog, but a dog that will fit in with our family. A dog that is less then a year old. A puppy that we can take for walks and is friendly. An animal that will curl up with you at the end of the day. A happy dog that is energetic but calm. I went to the SPCA with K on Saturday to look. We found a 7 1/2 month old Lab mix - but have not come to any conclusions. I would rather this decision to take a while so we can find a dog that will fit in our life. The woman who knows more about the dogs was not there on Saturday. I took the time to fill out the paper work and speak with a counselor. So tomorrow the woman who knows more about the dogs should call me - but I am stopping in tomorrow (Monday) to check it out.

My husband is in and out of the house through out the day. I work a part time split shift job. So this will allow us the time to spend with the future pup during the work day. Also K loves to be outside and there are several dog parks in our town. The dog would share K's room. We are going to put selves up on the walls for her toys and a latch of sorts on her toy box. (Her room is bare except for her bed and toy box.) We are going to put up a wall length chalk board for her. Her floor is tile. There will be a create for the future pup.

Now based on the research that I have done ... the best breed of dog is Lab, Retriever, or a Poodle. Now, I am kind a partial to a beagle, but we will see. 

As far as the benefits:

As Temple Grandin has proven, individuals with autism are often able to connect with animals in very deep and meaningful ways. In particular, dogs can teach a child unconditional love, responsibility, compassion and provide unparalleled companionship that can potentially change the course of their lives. From "Dogs Proven Therapeutic for Children with Autism" AutismKey

• teaching responsibility, unconditional love, compassion and respect
• creating a relaxing atmosphere that can reduce anxiety
• providing companionship that can alter social behavior

Below are the websites that I have checked out:

• Best Pet Dog for a Child with Autism - What's Your Advice?
• Best friend, indeed, for children with autism
• The Best Dog Breeds for Autistic Children
• Choosing a Pet for Your Autistic Child
• A Dog May Be a Child-With-Autism's Best Friend

• Autism Service Dogs (Service that provides service dogs - I do not promote this site - it does offer a page with detailed information to explain how it helps kids with autism and certain behaviors.)
• Autism Service Dog - Wikipedia 
• If My Dog Could Talk - Written by Alison Ainsworth  (Book information about one family's life with their child and service dog)

At the "Yuck Yuck Fair"

K has been asking for the Fair since we went on Friday.  First we went to McDonald's for dinner were she chose a cheeseburger happy meal. Once she ate that K asked for yogurt. K LOVES the fruit parfaits. We used the ladies room. In the ladies room, K was saying "Yuck Yuck Fair" and "Fair nasty". Now she has never been to a fair and the only rides she has been on are Merry-Go-Rounds or Bounce Houses. When she said that I gave K the choice of the fair or going home and going to bed. K looked at me and said in her little high pitch voice "No bed. Fair, ok.". Once done at McDonald's, we went over to the Fair.

I bought 40 tickets for us. The first ride she went on was this mini train ride. I was not sure if she was going to undo the buckle. So the ride operator let me ride with her - that was quite a sight! It was a tight squeeze getting in then I had to ride hunched over. K did great on that ride. Next I took her to the balloon dart game to win her a prize. 5 darts for $5 - I asked K what prize she wanted. Barely able to hear her over the blaring music, K said "I want monkey, please." So, $10 dollars later, K got her beloved monkey.

We rode on the Scrambler and the Flying Bobs together. Then K rode on all of the kiddie rides - the Frog Leap, the Airplanes, Motorcycles, and Cars. I went to take her on the Fun House with slide. I asked the ride operator if I could shadow her and I explained she has Autism and I am not sure how she would be on this ride. (It was a walk through fun house that went high up with 2 slides, 2 wooden bridges and some other obstacles.) The operator said no that we could not go on since this ride was only for kids. I was a little peeved, but took K to ride on some spinning ride. While in line for the spinning ride, I saw another adult in the fun house with his child. Once they came off the final slide, I went up to this guy and asked if he just came off the ride and if the operator allowed him on. This guy said yes. I went back to the operator and told him that it was unfair of him to allow this child on with his father and not allow me to take my daughter on. Finally, he allowed K on with the condition that if she scared or confused and did not come down I could go after her. He allowed her to go on several times after that without having to pay extra tickets. He then told me he has a daughter with Downs Syndrome.

After that, we went on the spinning ride. I let K play a game where she picks up a duck out of a pool of water and wins a prize. She picked out this green blow up alien (or as she says it "Al-we-win-win"). Then we shared a pretzel and a soda. She wanted to go back onto the Flying Bobs again because of the music. She LOVED that ride! During the whole night she kept asking "ride, please", "more ride", "music car ride, please" (for the Flying Bobs). K had one last ride on the train by herself. I told K that we were leaving and she got a bit fussy. She stared to cry and said "rides". But I told her there were no more tickets and we had to go home to see Daddy. K said "No Daddy." But she calmed down.

DH did not go with us to the fair because he was on call. But K and I had a good time. K yesterday kept asking about the fair. I told her the fair went bye-bye. So I think we are Disney ready. There were no lines at the fair for the most part. K did get semi fussy about waiting for the short time she have to wait, but she  soon got over it. I know that Disney has the Fast Track passes - I will have to research that a bit more. I think that we will do Disney for her 7th birthday.

I Believe In Miracles: Jodie Kidd Part 7

Fair

K and I are going to this mini fair tonight. I think that she will love the rides but flip out because she will have to wait and then get off and not go back on right away. I am testing her to see how she will do before we decide to take her to Disney. Now I probably will be taking her by myself because DH is on call this week.

Easter Egg Fun!