Ooky Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Odin really is the sweetest dog ever. He is so gonzo a lot of the time I watch him carefully around children. He usually acts preternaturally gentle and calm, especially around the little ones or kids who are scared of dogs. But I don't let him play unsupervised and since my BFF moved away he gets less direct exposure to kids. I walked him to the sandwich shop we are regulars at today, and as usual tied him outside to go get my sandwich. It was really busy so I was having to wait for quite a while. I looked out the window to check on him and was sort of horrified to see this little crowd around him. When the crowd parted a bit, I was even more scared to see a woman presenting her clearly developmentally challenged child to Odin. The girl was frail, young, and looked like she had really bad CP or something similar. Later when I went outside I could tell she was mentally challenged as well. I almost rushed out right then without even ordering my sandwich (what was the caretaker thinking? She had no idea whose dog it was!), to supervise and make sure *nothing happened* due to Odin's typical young BC exuberency. But then I stopped. Odin was being so gentle and friendly it took my breath away. He laid his head against the girl and let her squash him all over his face. He closed his mouth when her fingers wandered too close but otherwise had a big, happy, relaxed grin. There was not even the slightest hint of jumping, crowding, or pushing on Odin's part. His tail wagged and he just let her touch him all over for at least a few minutes (the length of time it took me to get my sandwich.) I'm just so proud of this guy today. There have been some incidents in the past few weeks that have made me go, "are we back to THAT again?!?" But this was a true display of gentle friendliness, good manners, and maturity, totally unmediated by me. Thanks for letting me share our little victory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john landry Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 My neighbor is 93 years old and believe it or not, still takes care of his 52 year-old son – call him Harry - who suffers from trizomic mongolism. Well, one of my dogs, Alice, has a hard time staying on our side of the hedge any time Harry is out. Alice will bark anytime she believes that anyone is even thinking of maybe, eventually, some time in the next century, venture even an inch onto our property/her territory. Not so with Harry. When she is totally silent for more than a few minutes, I know Harry is out there, patting Alice, both of them with nirvana on their respective faces. The extent of Alice’s joy when with Harry is something to behold. I do not have a very extensive experience with dogs so I keep wondering what exactly they sense in Harry. If Harry could take care of Alice, I think I would leave Alice with him – she could not be happier. I think dogs know when someone is ego-free, has no interferring ego to protect - the way dogs are naturally. john landry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I'm just so proud of this guy today. There have been some incidents in the past few weeks that have made me go, "are we back to THAT again?!?" But this was a true display of gentle friendliness, good manners, and maturity, totally unmediated by me. Thanks for letting me share our little victory. That's awesome! I love those "ah ha" moments! They're what get us through the "are we back to THAT again?!?" moments! These dogs of ours are just amazing animals, aren't they? Good Ooky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronHorse Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Wonderful to hear such heart warming episodes. It always amazes me when I see or hear of such moments. I believe that dogs especially Border Collies sense such challenged people and the truely special ones really have a desire to share their healing energy. Sounds like Odin is one of those very special dogs. It had to make you very proud and warm your heart to see your dog in such a light. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pansmom Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 My neighbor is 93 years old and believe it or not, still takes care of his 52 year-old son – call him Harry - who suffers from trizomic mongolism. Well, one of my dogs, Alice, has a hard time staying on our side of the hedge any time Harry is out. Alice will bark anytime she believes that anyone is even thinking of maybe, eventually, some time in the next century, venture even an inch onto our property/her territory. Not so with Harry. When she is totally silent for more than a few minutes, I know Harry is out there, patting Alice, both of them with nirvana on their respective faces. The extent of Alice’s joy when with Harry is something to behold. I do not have a very extensive experience with dogs so I keep wondering what exactly they sense in Harry. If Harry could take care of Alice, I think I would leave Alice with him – she could not be happier. I think dogs know when someone is ego-free, has no interferring ego to protect - the way dogs are naturally. john landry Both of these stories are amazing. Thanks to both of you for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattinky Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Great story, somehow they know when to cool it... I have some friends I visit often and I always take Kate with me because their little girl just loves her. She will run and play with Kate all day long and believe me Kate is active to say the least LOL. Last week when I was there the little girl had just had her tonsils removed and was pretty puny, just lying on the couch watching TV and Kate laid there with her all day and was very gentle with her. I don't know how they know but they do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 That's awsome! I can picture the whole thing. A few years ago, my 76-year-old mother decided to take in her older sister, who has Alzheimer's. (Bad plan. Don't do this at 76.) The first day my Aunt was there, I was really worried about Buddy's reaction: he gets very spooked when there's a new person in any familiar place, and will regress to his early behaviors of barking and growling. I was afraid I'd have to stop bringing him to my parents' house. Buddy came through the front door, and before I even had a chance to find my aunt, he slipped out of sight. I was waiting for reactive barking. Instead, I found Buddy in the living room, sitting next to my aunt with one paw up on her lap while she stroked his head. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 these are all just lovely stories, made me smile with my coffee this morning. thank you for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustopherJones Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I have already talked about Annie's encounter with autistic children in another thread, so I won't bore you with the details again. Suffice it to say that our dogs can often surprise us with their gentleness and understanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrishD Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 What a sweet story! Hurrah, Odin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I usually go downtown in the morning for breakfast once a week and I usually run into a bunch of autistic kids. Jin loves to play with them. At first I thought the kids or he might get to rough but it was a wonderful thing to watch. He even took one boys hand in his mouth and gently held it while the boy stared at him saying, "He has a blue eye" I wish I had had my camera with me. that was an obvious case of total trust between the two of them. don;t let anyone tell you BCs arent' good with kids. I raised 3 of them and non of them ever bit a dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 We've had very little contact with special needs children. The one that we did encounter was terrified of animals except fish. He scarred Dew to the point of hiding behind me with quiet warning growls. More like she was warring me not the kid. Mick OTOH, was all waggily, he looks scary and the child got very nervous. He first jumped around screaming because he was scared but then ended up on the floor barking like a dog. Mick took the cue and started barking with him, which scarred the kid into a total meltdown. For safety and peace sake I put the 2 dogs in the car. This is my cousins kid. We were talking later that day and I told her about Temple Gradin's books. She went out and bought one (animals in translation) after finishing the book went out and adopted a cat. I haven't seen the kid since the cat addition but I hear from all the other family members that this cat has brought her child out of the dark side of autism. He is now able to make eye contact with other family members that he used to not be able to. He looks people in the face and tells them all about what his cat talks to him about. I would love to see him with Mick now. Animals and special needs kids fascinate me. I do think our dogs know when there's something different. I know they sure have no judgments to make. Odin sounds like he was doing what he needed to do. Making him Momma proud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewie'sMom Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Odin really is the sweetest dog ever. He is so gonzo a lot of the time I watch him carefully around children. He usually acts preternaturally gentle and calm, especially around the little ones or kids who are scared of dogs. But I don't let him play unsupervised and since my BFF moved away he gets less direct exposure to kids. I walked him to the sandwich shop we are regulars at today, and as usual tied him outside to go get my sandwich. It was really busy so I was having to wait for quite a while. I looked out the window to check on him and was sort of horrified to see this little crowd around him. When the crowd parted a bit, I was even more scared to see a woman presenting her clearly developmentally challenged child to Odin. The girl was frail, young, and looked like she had really bad CP or something similar. Later when I went outside I could tell she was mentally challenged as well. I almost rushed out right then without even ordering my sandwich (what was the caretaker thinking? She had no idea whose dog it was!), to supervise and make sure *nothing happened* due to Odin's typical young BC exuberency. But then I stopped. Odin was being so gentle and friendly it took my breath away. He laid his head against the girl and let her squash him all over his face. He closed his mouth when her fingers wandered too close but otherwise had a big, happy, relaxed grin. There was not even the slightest hint of jumping, crowding, or pushing on Odin's part. His tail wagged and he just let her touch him all over for at least a few minutes (the length of time it took me to get my sandwich.) I'm just so proud of this guy today. There have been some incidents in the past few weeks that have made me go, "are we back to THAT again?!?" But this was a true display of gentle friendliness, good manners, and maturity, totally unmediated by me. Thanks for letting me share our little victory. And somebody had the gall to refer to them as "dumb" animals? hrumph! Good boy, Odin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclare Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 It really is remarkable. My normally exuberant (that's a euphemism for crazy) Daisy was sooooo gentle when she first met my 90 year old grandmother. She just walked right up to her and sat down - no jumping, no barking, no sniffing even. She's usually great with kids, too, although she finds infant faces irresistably tasty, which can be upsetting for the uninitiated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dal & Mad's Mom Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I love stories like this. We have a few Bc mixes that live with physically or mentally challenged young adults. We also have a white fluffy mix who lives with a mentally and physically challenged man. Dogs are amazing. The most amazing one we have is a weimy who lives with a family and a 95 year old aunt. She practically knocks down all visitors but, gently lays her head on the aunts knee like she couldnt be more gentle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc friend Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 All of the stories are great and very heart-warming but let's not forget that these dogs behave the way they do (at least in part) because of the training, socialization and positive reinforcement each dog has received from its owner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLloydJones Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 All of the stories are great and very heart-warming but let's not forget that these dogs behave the way they do (at least in part) because of the training, socialization and positive reinforcement each dog has received from its owner. True, but dogs do have a deep and instinctive recognition of the weak, helpless and guileless that goes far beyond their training and socialisation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustopherJones Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 True, but dogs do have a deep and instinctive recognition of the weak, helpless and guileless that goes far beyond their training and socialisation. Well said. I wish I could claim credit for Annie's love of people (especially children and the infirm); but her tenderness and compassion is far greater than anything that I (or any other person) can claim credit for. I have a sweatshirt that says, "Lord, Help Me To Become The Man My Dogs Think I Am"; it should say, "Lord, Help Me To Become The Man My Dogs Can Be Proud Of". Each of us (hopefully) longs to become the kind of person he/she always wished he/she could be; dogs have already acheived that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody & Duchess Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I am having a really bad day. You have all made it so much better.. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustopherJones Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I am having a really bad day. You have all made it so much better. That's what friends are for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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