A Golden Retriever Reaches a Raging Boy

[btfc]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/magazi...r-dog.html

[Marc Anthony]

A blind link to a site requiring a login reaches a raging potential reader.

[Grace62]

This link will bypass the pay wall.
http://inagist.com/nytimes/165396183739670529/

This is such a great article, get the Kleenex before you begin. And yes it's worth reading all 7 pages.

[$tevie]

That's a wonderful story. Thank you.

[cbelt3]

Will the dog arrive because I'm raging about Rupie's bloody Paywall ? Arrgh.

[$tevie]

Try throwing away all your nyt cookies.

[cbelt3]

Thanks, $tevie. Wow.. what a story. A four Hankie read..

I recall my little brother reacting very well to my dog. I wonder if his teen years would have been easier if my dog hadn't been killed by a car when he was 9 and I was 10.

My little brother.. now in his 50's... has severe learning disabilities, Cerebral Palsy, and Epilepsy. The idea of Service Dogs for people like him was not even considered back in the 1960's and 1970's.

Learning from my brother, I can tell you that puberty is hell for someone with cognitive difficulties. He would become enraged at even the slightest stimulus, positive or negative. We spent a lot of time just.. sitting calmly with him and engaging him in games and conversation.

[marksomebodyelse]

My neighbor has a child with Aspergers syndrome. They have a dog from this organization and it also calms the child at night. The only part that bothers me is the dog gets very little exercise and is getting fat. It is a sweet female mostly Golden retriever but still a mixed breed.

[Grace62]

marksomebodyelse wrote:
My neighbor has a child with Aspergers syndrome. They have a dog from this organization and it also calms the child at night. The only part that bothers me is the dog gets very little exercise and is getting fat. It is a sweet female mostly Golden retriever but still a mixed breed.

You could volunteer to take the dogs for walks.

Parenting a special needs child leaves little time for these basics sometimes.

[Janit]

Grace62 wrote:
[quote=marksomebodyelse]
My neighbor has a child with Aspergers syndrome. They have a dog from this organization and it also calms the child at night. The only part that bothers me is the dog gets very little exercise and is getting fat. It is a sweet female mostly Golden retriever but still a mixed breed.

You could volunteer to take the dogs for walks.

Parenting a special needs child leaves little time for these basics sometimes.
Yes, and the walks would do you good as well!