Neena

Meet Neena, the newest member of the Bertic family. Yes, we got a kitty!

The kids have been wanting another pet since we moved into our apartments and couldn't bring Mazy with us. Mazy was our dog. She was a little dog (wiener dog actually), but she was very, very aggressive. We were told that the apartments were strict about aggressive animals and you could be evicted if enough people complained about your pet. Mazy had enough of a bad reputation with previous neighbors that we didn't want to take any chances.

She was wonderful with us. She was simply overprotective and prone to escaping out the front door and chasing people for blocks while convincing them she was a doberman. We left her with John's parents and still cared for her basic needs, but when mom and dad went to Illinois for a month at a time (at least two times a year), we had to figure out how to care for her while they were gone. Sometimes, we planned to be on vacation at the same time they were. This posed a real problem.

In the end, we prayed and found a wonderful new home for Mazy on ten acres of ranch with eight other dogs just like her and dozens of ducks and stray cats to chase and torture. The kids were satisfied that she was safe and happy, but still sad that their pet had to find a new home. Thus started the "wanting".

Last weekend after the camping trip, we took Jonathan's friend Leo home and he introduced us to Neena. Leo's dad found her under a car, stopping traffic just outside Busch Gardens on Busch Boulevard. He took her home, cleaned her up, and they began the process of finding a home for her. As far as the kids were concerned once they saw her, she now had a home.

They worked on dad for hours, begging, pleading, offering to take care of her every need that arose. John was never opposed to a cat, but it would mean coming up with a security deposit and $15 a month extra for our lease. He told the kids he would find out what the deposit was on Monday and let them know his decision then.

The answer was in the total...$300.00!! Ben and Jonathan produced half with their saved chore and birthday money, but in the end, it was just too much to justify for a pet, especially with other bills looming. The kids were disappointed, but relented just the same. Jonathan did refuse to give up however, even to the point of calling Leo and telling him to hold the kitten a few more days while we prayed. He asked all of youth group to pray for us as well. Spontaneously throughout the next few days, Jonathan would ask me to pray for us to be able to somehow get the kitten.

Laying in bed the other night I remember a website someone sent me for Jeremiah about service cats. The website explains that cats can learn to initiate play, recognize and interrupt repetitive or compulsive behavior, provide tactical comfort by staying in the child's lap and sitting still for several minutes at a time, and play without use of claws, or teeth. They can also be trained to assist the child when they feel overwhelmed in over stimulating situations, social situation tolerance, distract the child when they are becoming frustrated with routine tasks, provided some sense of "sameness" if the child's routine changes suddenly, facilitate child's improved communication. The cats will also be able to carry via her tags information about the child's condition, who the child is, and how to help in the event of a "shut down".

Needless to say, the wheels started spinning and I went to the office the next day and asked about service animals. There is NO security deposit or additional monthly fee for service animals! I phoned Jeremiah's doctor and spoke with her and she agreed that a cat would provide great behavioral therapy for Jerry and she sent a prescription to that effect to the apartment's office. They added Neena to our lease and the rest is history!

The kids were overjoyed of course and Jonathan sees his prayers as answered, though we did discuss that sometimes the answer is "no" and we just have to accept that. He agreed though he said that would have been difficult to accept. I told him it usually is, but God always knows better than we do.

We headed to the pet store and got a scratching post (to save our furniture), a few toys, food, and a littler box. God is so good! The store refills your litter tub with scoopable little for only .39 a pound. So next is to the vets for shots and spaying.

And then the training begins. First we will harness train her. Then we will leash train her and work on simple commands. We have the help of Tenere Kingdom, the website we were sent. Tenere Kingdom was created by a boy named Samuel. Samuel is 14 and has Asperger's Syndrome. His mom gave him an assignment to write a paper on a business he could "create" that would help others. After finding two stray cats, Samuel not only created his business on paper, but has made it his desire and goal to help others like him for real.

Samuel has a service cat that was prescribed for him and he has reaped the benefits of its companionship and training. Samuel's vision is to create a service/therapy placement center for children with autism and other kids who would benefit from a service cat. Traditionally, therapy and service animals are dogs. However, Tenere Kingdom believes that cats may be a better choice for some kids with autism. Their small size makes them less frightening than dogs, and their independence makes them easier to care for. Cats can be fully trained for many tasks and even obey command like dogs.

Samuel's story is amazing and he is working on his business licensing and non-profit status through recycling soda tabs! Such a neat kid and passion to help others! Anyway, his website features training tips, a downloadable guide, and videos of his cats that he is currently training, as well as updates on their progress.

For more information about Tenere Kingdom, visit http://www.freewebs.com/tenerekingdom/index.htm.

So we're off on our new adventure! Cat ownership and training 101! We'll keep everyone posted. I will probably post videos and update everyone of Neena's training progress on this blog. We appreciate your prayers on this journey!