Todd's Story
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By the time we were half way to Hemet, Benton was laying on the back seat next to Todd. Benton's head was cradled in his paws,
which were in the middle of Todd's lap. Todd's hands rested gently on Benton's head, and every once in a while Todd would chuckle
softly and give Benton a head rub. When we got home, Benton met Autumn....you would think they have been lifelong friends.
Benton checked out the house and plopped himself at Todd's feet, then went over to my dad for a little massage, then went back to
Todd. Later, he checked out my son Tyler's bearded dragon, finding it only mildly interesting. The hamster was a little more
entertaining, but you could tell that Benton was pretty sure that it was merely a smaller version of a neurotic terrier--and none too
bright, either. And as for the cat, well, Benton is politely charmed but not impressed: the cat hisses, Benton looks at him, refuses to
engage, and turns the other way.
While Todd rested, I took Benton for a walk. We visited in the front yard with a friend around the corner; Benton stood still for the
first minute, sat quietly the second minute, and fell asleep on my feet for the next three minutes. He stood up, then leaned on my
friend's legs when we said good bye. My friend, who is a Neo-natal intensive care nurse, and has three children of her own (one of
them is autistic), said, "This dog is hugging me good-bye! What a great dog for Todd!" Then she gave Benton a hug back, and cried.
Right now, Benton is laying on the floor next to Todd's bed. Todd isn't asleep, though; he's chuckling to himself again, and he
reaches out every once in awhile and gives Benton a pat. I check on them and Benton looks at me. I can't explain it, but there is
wisdom in those eyes. In one look, he tells me, "I know what I'm supposed to do. I'm home now. You can relax, Mom. We'll share
this journey with Todd."
It is my turn to cry. The tears today have all been good.
Update:
Todd & Benton
I just put pictures for nine commands in Todd's Gotalk. I used come, let's go, sit, wait, go through, follow, get the ball, my lap, and
down. I'll program the voices in tomorrow. I'm thinking I need to use as few commands as possible whenever I'm with Benton, and let
Todd do most of it via the Gotalk That way, maybe Benton will learn that when my voice comes from the machine, he should be
listening to Todd, not me. What do you think?
Also, my dad is giving the devotional at church next week, and he's going to use CST and Benton as an example of gifts from God. I
thought you'd be pleased to hear that. He had a hard time leaving--he's touched by animals, anyway, and especially touched by
quality dogs. I think seeing and participating in team training last week really affected him. He just can't stop talking about how great
it was to see dogs doing such noble work, and he just keeps praising your program. Please tell everyone that CST has totally won
my dad's heart.
And as for Benton....I made him a dog bed that sits next to Todd's bed; his body sleeps on nearly two feet of foam, while his head
sleeps on Todd's pillow. We went to Dairy Queen tonight and Todd dripped milkshake over Benton's nose.
Benton likes ice cream.
--Jackie Owen
Todd’s Bedtime Conversation
-Jackie
I asked, as I always do,
"What did you do at school today?"
Same answer: "I did reading, and I did counting, and I did.......... exercises?"
Me, as always: "You did reading?"
Todd: "Yes!!!!" (He likes to "read.")
Me: "What did you read?"
Todd: "I read, I read, I read a book!"
Me: "You did???"
Todd: "Yes!!!!!" (Every night this is the same conversation, and every night we are both excited.)
Me: "What was the book about?"
Todd: "A book with........pictures!!!!" (Nothing different in the conversation yet.)
Me: "The book had pictures in it???"
Todd: "Yes!!!!"
Me: "What pictures did you see?"
Todd: "I see pictures!!!"
And then, I asked the million dollar question, the one I'd been waiting to ask since we set Todd and Benton's new learnine (IEP) goals
last Friday. "Who did you tell about the book?"
Todd, with major excitement and head-bobbing: "I did tell......Benton!"
Now I am excited. "You told Benton about the book???" You see, that's exactly what we'd planned in his IEP--he'd tell the dog about
a book, and maybe that would help him remember enough to tell me.
The conversation from here does not follow our typical script at all. It is spontaneous, and new, and I am suddenly listening
enthusiastically, holding my breath through every answer.
"Yes!!!!! I did tell Benton book!!!"
"Did you show Benton the pictures?"
"Yes!!!!"
"Pictures.....boats!!!"
"Boats? The book was about boats???"
"Yes!!!!"
Now I am on a roll. I want to see if he practiced any of the other IEP goals.
"What else did you do with Benton?"
"I did counting!!!"
"You did counting???"
"Yes!!!"
"What did you count?"
"I did count food!!!"
"You counted food???" (I am hoping . . . .)
"Yes!!!!"
"What kind of food?"
"I did count dog food!!!"
"Dog food? You counted dog food????"
"Yes!!!!! I did give dog food to Benton!!!"
"What else did you give Benton?"
"I did give Benton water!!!"
"You did???"
"Yes!!!"
"All by yourself?"
"Yes!!!!! Water.....wet!!!"
"Wow, Todd, that's great! Did you tell Benton anything?"
"Yes!!!"
"What did you say?"
"I said........good dog Benton!"
"What else?"
"I said......go through Benton."
"What else?"
"I said......down sit stay Benton."
"Wow, Todd, that's great, too. What else did you do today"
"I did do exercises. I did kick..........the ball by myself."
"And I did.......eat pizza!!!"
His head is now spinning and bobbing, he is so excited. Benton jumps on the bed, Tyler comes in and tackles all three of us, and
Katie simultaneously announces that she is ready to be tucked in. I leave the room to say good night to Katie, then I come back and
kiss Tyler on the top bunk. In the bottom bunk, Todd is still cracking up, and I can hear him say to himself again, under his breath, "I
did read book Benton!!!"
Tonight, I stand back and gaze at that 105 pound lug of a golden retriever, the one who can flail lamps from end tables with one
swoosh of a tail, the one who has created a sizeable sock shortage in our house, the one who torments the cat and wakes me every
morning by landing squarely in the middle of my back and licking my right ear.
I may be the one with the teaching certificate, but Benton is a master teacher.
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