There are many articles and thoughts that a child with autism can greatly benefit from having a pet. So, as a forward-thinking mother of a child on the spectrum...I went for it.
Now, keep in mind, we had a bunny (George, aka Cinnamon- that's a whole other story), who everyone ignored, and we've just adopted Cooper, the much loved cat. We also have Frosty the Fish, given to Jacob by his ABA therapist...who hasn't been mentioned or thought of in months (you'd think with this lack of attention, he'd be floating by now, but the bugger is a survivor!!).
So, Jacob has been obsessed with Rhino from the movie Bolt. This is a very spunky
Guinea Pig who rolls around in a plastic ball doing karate and talking trash. So, this week, after many discussions, I take Jacob to the pet store to get his own pet. We go into the little rodent room, pull out a
Guinea Pig, and Jacob proceeds to freak out! "It's going to scratch me!" When I asked him if he really wanted this type of animal, though, he insisted, yes...he did. But, in my infinite wisdom, guided him towards the gerbils. Cute, don't scratch, don't bite and we could get 2. "YES! How did you know that I have always wanted a Gerbil???" was Jacob's immediate answer. So, in the box go 2 little black gerbils.
On to the cages. Can we get the standard metal cage? No, we need to get the one that has 1,000,000 pieces with tubes, balls, and a roller-
coaster style wheel that glows in the dark. Jacob loves to build things, and this is right up his alley. $85 later, we leave the store with Mr. Gerbil and Mr. Gerbil (original, no?), food, cage, chewy thing, ball to put them in for free roaming fun, and a happy giggling kid.
Jacob proceeds to put the Gerbils (in the box) in a booster seat, secures them with a
seat belt, and announces that we need to go home "right now" so we can build the cage. So we do.
Cutting to 10 hours later, I am abruptly awakened by a shrill crying child. (4:47am, to be exact). "The gerbils are gone!" I'm thinking, no way, when Jacob went to sleep, they were snug in their space-station cage, full and happy. When I took Jacob back to his room, though, I found that the cage had been moved by the bed, the door was open, and the ball was open and on the floor. The ball...oh no. Even though I explained slowly to Jacob that he is not allowed to take Mr. Gerbil and Mr. Gerbil out of the cage unless I am there, seemed not to matter. Jacob had taken the Mr.'s and put them into the ball. But he didn't put the lid on (they needed to breathe, Mom!), and they are GONE!!
Shrieking continues, and Maxwell and Ella are jolted awake by the frenzy. I go into Ella's room, and
luckily find Mr. Gerbil (I don't know which one, but....). Jacob is
relieved, but continues to scream because he knows that if we don't find the other Mr. Gerbil, Cooper the Cat is going to have a nice, warm lunch.
It is now over 24 hours later, and we still haven't found Mr. Gerbil. But, in the infinite wisdom of a mother with a special needs child, I, of course, went to the store to purchase another Gerbil to pacify my lovely boy. (p.s. you can't put
Gerbils from different litters into the same cage, or they will fight and be
pissy). So, now, we have 3 rodents, 2 cages, a satisfied cat, a fish that won't float, and a very happy child on the spectrum.
What have I taken away from this episode? Apparently nothing. I would do it all again just to see the happy smile on Jacob's face, and to watch him talk and play with the little black balls of fur. It's worth it. Every penny, every minute, every time.
