When I take Allie to schools I cover his Marshall Front Pack w/ my
button-down shirt.  1st we discuss safety around pets: move slow,
stay quiet, never approach w/o asking the animal's adult, etc.
 
Next I go through my intro routine:
 
"Who has a dog?  My pet has canines, fetches, and walks on a leash"
 
"Who has a cat?  My pet has claws, climbs furniture, and uses a litter
 box"
 
"Who has a mouse, rat, hamster, gerbil or other rodent?  My pet is quiet
as a mouse, sleeps in a cage, & likes to tennel"
 
"And he'll sit on my shoulder like a parrot, likes to be dressed up in
costumes like a doll, and when he's excited he'll cluck like a squirrel!"
 
By the end of that routine the kids are always wide eyed, exciting,
and leaning forwards on their knees in the semi-circle on the carpet.
Originally I would next ask them "Would you like to meet him?"
 
But Allie learned that when the kids start responding to my questions
about what pets they have, squealing "I do" and raising their eager
hands as their bodies shift in anticipation... Allie has learned that
THOSE sounds mean he's about to get petted by lots of eager children.
 
So when Allie FIRST hears the kids' eager responses he starts pushing
his nose at the zippers of his carrier so BEFORE I EVEN FINISH my
intro-questioning routine he pokes his lil nose between two buttons of
my shirt & to greet the kids!
 
So in my lil intro-routine, I've now had to replace "Does anybody have
a ____.  My pet.... "w/ just "What if I told you my pet...." so Allie
will wait for me to unzip him :)
 
"Intelligence is like 4-wheel drive.  It allows you to get stuck in more
'remote' places."
~ Garrison Keillor ~
[Posted in FML issue 5150]