KPETS is discontinuing our old forum and moving to a blog format. Some of these old post are too great to have disappear. So the next couple posts will be from the 'archives'.
Pee Mail / by Mary Gottfried
Murray and I do home visits with 3 Autistic brothers, ages 6, 8, and 12- it's like giving "Dog Lessons".
The mom realizes that bringing a pet into their often chaotic household would not be a good idea at this time, but she does want her kids to learn about animals and how to interact appropriately with dogs.
Murray and I have been visiting for a few months- the boys have learned how to approach a dog, how to pet a dog, and how to interact in a respectful, kind way with Murray.
A few weeks ago it was time to learn how to walk a dog on a leash. So mom, dad, the 3 boys, and Murray and I took off for a walk around their neiborhood. After sorting out in what order the boys would take turns (oldest to youngest), and how long each turn would be (switch at every other mailbox), we began walking Murray.
As we walked along, they had lots of questions, and I would point out things that Murray was doing, like sniffing the ground, and explain why. Finally one of them asked why Murray kept peeing- he was marking at just about every driveway as we walked along. So I explained that while humans can leave messages for each other by computer e-mail, dogs leave messages for each other by "pee-mail"- that Murray was getting messages left by other dogs that they had been there!
The kids thought this was hilarious, and Murray never had such an enthralled audience to his urination!
Mary and Murray
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