Ode to Riley

So up till now I have tried to cover how all of us in the household deal with Camryn and how Autism affects our lives. But I realized that in the process I have left out one very important family member who deals with  Camryn up close and personal and I mean reeeeeaaaall up close and personal on a daily basis, and that would be our beloved family dog, Riley, or Ry-Ry as Camryn calls her. We all have to deal with the unpleasant side of Camryns Autism and you wouldn't be a household resident if you didn't have at least three visible injuries inflicted by Cams, but Riley, Ry-ry, that poor dog has been through it. In the short time since we rescued her (ha!), Camryn has pulled, licked, tugged, pinched, squeezed, poked and God knows what else to her, with not so much as a whimper from her. And I'm sure she's thinking "I know I'm just a dog, and dogs aren't that smart, but when you rescue a dog from a shelter, doesn't that mean you take them to a safe and loving home? And you people, you got the love part down, but safe? Do you people have any idea what that child does to me? Well do you??" And if these thoughts do cross her mind, you'd never know it. A little over 80 pounds, she truly is a gentle giant. And we specifically wanted giant, because giant usually means durable and we've seen what happens to smaller, more fragile pets when Camryn comes in contact with them.
Ahhhh, where should I start. Well, when Camryn was 2 and Mason was 5 we fulfilled Masons biggest hope of becoming a proud pet owner and got her a cat. A smaller sized, calico whom she promptly named "Fruit Loop Candy Princess Walker", I would refer to her as Fruit Loop. Well, in the beginning all was well. After all, Cams was only two and I mean how much damage can a toddler do to a cat with sharp claws and super swift reflexes? Keep reading... Camryn was still in a crib at that time and in between her crib and Masons bed was a dresser. Well, one day, I like to refer to it as "the day Fruit Loop went down to 6 lives", Camryn climbed out of her crib and onto the dresser, where Fruit Loop happened to be. That girl grabbed the cat by the neck with both hands and squeezed with sheer delight, almost as if squeezing icing out of a pastry tube and when I walked through the door, to my horror, there was Fruit Loop, suspended in mid air, neck in a toddler vice like grip , her body dangling back and forth like a pendulum, BAM! three lives gone in a flash! And directly beneath her on Masons pillow? A big fresh pile of...poo. Yep, Camryn literally scared the sh*t out of that cat! I screamed and released her, and the poor thing ran like the wind. After that I don't know how many times that same scene was played out in different locations around the house. Eventually we let Fruit be an outside cat. She was totally declawed by this time and being outdoors in our neighborhood can be risky business for a clawless kitty. A family of bobcats live in the lot across the street and the coons around here are as big as dogs.But compared to the alternative of living within arms reach of Camryn, the cat gladly took her chances. And actually fared quite well for a few years until she got an infected scratch and we had to take her to a shelter.
Not too long after, Brad's Mom and husband moved down from North Carolina. Along with all their clothes and belongings, they  brought their beagle mix Nicky (also an amazingly patient dog) and their beloved hamster Herman. This hamster was one for the record books, still going strong after 6 years!  Brad's mom cared for him as if he were a dog, and even bathed him in the sink once a week scrubbing him with a toothbrush. Weird, I know, but  the point is he was well cared for and even after a bumpy twelve hour ride in the back of a U-Haul he was lively and alert the day they pulled up at our house. Now we warned them about Camryn, and we told them it probably wouldn't be in Hermans best interest if they let Cam pet him, but they insisted on letting Camryn get right on in there with her sisters and give the little guy a stroke. And so she did. Give him a stroke, that is. But not the soft,gentle rub kind. No, it was more of blood clot, cut off the circulation to your brain kind. When no one was looking, including me, Camryn apparently gave Herman a good squeeze. Well, I say no one was looking, but Brad saw it all. And even though he had an "Oh sh*t !"moment in his head, he didn't say a word, just suggested Herman go back in his cage for the night. It didn't immediately take effect, as internal injuries usually take time to reach full severity and it wasn't until a few hours later as I was getting ready to serve dinner that we received the news that something was wrong with Herman. Seems he was lying on his side motionless except for a twitch of his legs every now and then. Now I love animals and all, but it was a 6 year old hamster and for all I knew it was dying of old age, it had a great life and now could it please pass so we could eat dinner. I know, horrible right? But my in-laws were terribly upset and the whole night was spent on Herman watch, with hourly updates on how the now wrapped in a washcloth sitting in my mother-in-laws lap hamster was doing. The next morning, I woke to learn Herman had gone on to hamster heaven. They buried him in our backyard (ew!) and mourned him for the days after. It wasn't until a week had gone by that Brad came clean. " I know what happened to Herman. Cam killed that hamster." He then told me what he had seen and Hermans quick demise soon began to make perfect sense. Well, we told them not to let her pet him!
From then, the assaults have been varied. A friend of mine was pet sitting a neighbors 9 week old retriever pup and invited me and the kids over to see him. We had been there literally two minutes before I said "We're leaving!" Seems Camryn was trying out her signature "pastry tube" move on the dogs neck and in absolute horrid embarrassment I apologized and offered to pay any vet bills before scurrying out the door. Then there was the time a man was walking his pug down our street. He gave the dog a little too much slack in the leash and well.... we were outside, Cams saw the dog and let's just say it's a good thing pugs don't have much of a neck. There was the chihuahua at the end of the street that wouldn't shut up and insisted on running out where Cam and I were walking. Pastry tube squeeze! And then of course, if you're a creature of smaller proportions and you happen to meet up with Cam, well you just don't stand a chance. Bugs, forget about it. Lizards, I don't even want to talk about it! And the fish at Petsmart swimming freely in the tanks with no lid? They're totally telling their grand-fish about the day they cheated death when a girl with pigtails reached into the tank and  tried to grab a little guy and "give him a hug". Basically, if Cams gets at you, you're bound to leave a little less in tact than you came.And the smaller you are, the greater the damage.
The friend of mine who was pet sitting the retirever puppy recently got her kids a chihuahua. And not just a chihuahua, a teacup chihuahua that weighs all of 2 pounds! Now the only reason I know this is because 2 of our mutual friends told me she invited their kids over to see it. Was I offended we weren't asked to come over? Absolutely not! Camryn vs. a teacup chihuahua? That dog wouldn't stand a chance! And I can only imagine the conversation that would have followed..."Umm honey I have bad news and worse news. The bad news is Camryn broke a teacup. The worse news is it was a teacup chihuahua!"
She doesn't do it to be mean. In fact it's the complete opposite. We have saying around here that "Camryn loves things to death!" and that is exactly how and why it happens. So when Mason asked us for a dog we both answered a quick resounding "No!" Why endanger another innocent animals life? But after all the research I had seen about animals and the therapeutic effect they have on children with special needs, the idea of a dog became a little more appealing. And it was so unfair to deny Mason her greatest wish of owning a dog becuase Camryn couldn't handle it. It was just one more reason for her to resent her sister and Autism. So after much thought and consideration, we decided to start looking for one. We went to the local animal shelter with a list of requirements that had no more than two items on it...1.It must be a dog. 2.It must be a big dog. A really ig dog.  Any four legged friend coming into our home needed to be big enough to withstand the affections of Camryn. Brad is the one who noticed Riley sitting patiently in her pen and after spending an hour with her out in the fenced in area we knew she was the one. We loaded her into the truck six months ago and have continued to be impressed with her gentle, forgiving nature and never ending patience. Along with all the craziness she puts up with from Natalie dressing her up in necklaces and tiaras to Mason trying to teach an old dog new tricks, the "abuse" she takes from Cams is amazing. Now Camryn also gives her "nice touches" in the form of open mouth kisses (disgusting!) and smooches on the nose. But mostly it's squeezes and pinches and using her as a bench. And Riley never so much as whimpers. I think she knows. She knows that Camryn can't help it and so she takes it, knowing that she will get belly rubs from Brad and doggy treats from me and when it comes down to it, that's a pretty good trade in dog reasoning.When Cams wakes up in the morning, the first words out of her mouth are "Ry-ry I wanna pet Ry Ry" "Shes black and white" "I like her eyebrows" And then after school it's the same thing. And even during school. All the school staff know about Ry-Ry and when I bring her in the car to pick up Mason, all of Cams teachers yell out "Ry Ry's here! Hi Ry-Ry"! I can't even remember what Camryn talked about before we had a dog. Riley makes her happy and when Cams is happy we are all happy. So Riley, this one's for you. Thanks for being such a loving, understanding part of our family. While humans may give us looks and make fun, you just accept Camryn and her way of loving and for that we love you! Good dog :)