Can I say Hi to your Dog?

This is a story I wrote about dogs. I draw on inspiration from my own life as a vivid dog lover, my special relationship with my late granddad, and from the enthusiasm of the daughter of one of my best friends, who reminded me of myself. Anybody who has ever had a dog shares a unique bond: The love we have for our loyal four-legged furry friends - and the innocence and passion they give us back. I hope you enjoy my story:

Hi, my name is Josephine, and I am six years old. This is my granddad, and he knows everything about dogs. I love dogs - I am CRAZY about dogs. When I see a dog in the street, I always rush over to pet it. My mom doesn’t like it when I take off to pet a dog, as not all dogs are friendly.

My granddad has a dog. Aston is his name, and he is the best dog in the world. My mom and I do not have a dog, as my mom says she works too much to be able to take care of it. Luckily my granddad lives next door, so I get to see Aston every day.

My granddad has taught me all I know about dogs. One day I hope to teach somebody about dogs. Maybe I can tell you... Do you want to learn more about dogs?

When I met Aston, the first thing I learned was that I had to let him smell my hand before I try to pet him. Luckily Aston jumped up and licked my face – we loved each other from the first time we met. Some dogs are used to strangers, and they will let you know by withdrawing their head or bark – that is why it is best to slowly approach the dog with your hand stretched out in front of you.

My mom got bitten when she was a little girl because she startled a sleeping dog – so now she never forgets to introduce herself first before we say hi to a new dog in the street.

Did you know that dogs originate from wolves? Yes, it is true. My granddad took me to the zoo, and we looked at the wolves. Granddad says that many years ago, humans decided that they would like help from the wolves to help hunt for food, so they started to invite the wolves to be their pets. The wolves liked that as they then knew they would get more food. All dogs love food. Many dogs today look nothing like wolves, though. Granddad says it is because there have been many generations of dogs. Granddad showed me a picture of his grandmother. I don’t look like her at all, and granddad said it is the same with dogs and wolves.

Aston loves food – my granddad says it is important that he doesn’t eat all the time, as he would get overweight and get heart diseases. Granddad says that he will not live as long if we don’t keep him healthy. I am glad I have my granddad. It is difficult not to give him a treat when he looks at me with so much love. But Aston loves carrots, and granddad says that it is ok that he eats carrots. I think he pretends it is a bone.

Once Aston found a box of plastic rubber bands and ate them. This wasn’t good. For several days his poop was mixed with rubber – luckily, he didn’t get sick. I was so worried about him.

When he was a puppy and had his small sharp baby teeth, he ate the remote control for the TV. Granddad says it still works most of the time, even though part of it is missing. Puppies’ teeth hurt when they are ready for adult teeth – that is why they try to bite everything to get rid of the puppy teeth. Granddad had given Aston an old shoe when he brought him home, but apparently, Aston preferred the remote control, and when granddad didn’t pay attention, Aston would always snatch it.

One time granddad and I took Aston with us to the forest, and suddenly he just started rolling around on the ground. I started giggling as I thought it looked so funny. But you know what – he had found a dead and decayed unidentifiable animal and rolled around in it. He smelled so bad we needed to have all the windows rolled down, driving back in the car. We had to give him a long bath when we got home. Granddad made a bottle with a mix of vinegar and baking soda. Yuk, that doesn’t smell nice. But we used it as a shampoo, and finally, Aston smelled good again. Aston didn’t regret it as he loved all the attention he got. I don’t think he minds the bad smells as we humans do!

Granddad explained that Aston had rolled around in something that smelled bad because it was an instinct from his forefathers, the big wild wolves. Aston was trying to hide his scent so he could easier sneak up on other dogs who couldn’t smell that he was coming. I don’t understand that – I could smell him coming.

Dogs have a perfect sense of smell. I don’t understand how Aston can stand smelling like something that yucky. I guess their instinct to sneak up on other dogs is more important than being stinky.

But granddad says that it doesn’t smell bad to dogs. That is also why they like to smell other dogs’ poop. Ydrk. Every time a dog poops or pees, it leaves behind a particular smell unique to the dog, like a signature. So other dogs know who owns the territory. Then, the next dog just poops or pees on the same spot, and now he or she owns the territory. And then they keep doing that. That is why they love going out on trips. They are eager to be the last dog to pee on things so that they can reclaim their territory.

Hey, do you know what Aston’s favorite game is? He loves tennis balls – I can throw it again and again and again, and he jumps into the air and brings it back. It is so much fun to see him run after the ball. But granddad says it is important that I don’t keep throwing it, as a dog will never tell you that he is tired. So he could hurt himself. I don’t want that to happen. Granddad tells me when we need to stop playing with the ball. Then Aston goes to his little water basin and cools off, and has a sip of water.

Sometimes Aston likes to take my teddy bears and run to the garden, hoping that I will chase him. I keep my special teddy bears on a shelf that he cannot reach, so I don’t get upset when he takes them. I think he only does it when he wants attention. Then I pretend to be upset with him and grab the teddy bear to pull it out of his mouth – he loves that – he then tries to pull it too to keep it – and we pretend to fight for it – it is a lot of fun – but he always wins – afterward he wags his tail at me and wants to play again.

Sometimes mom allows me to sleep at granddad’s house. Those are the best nights, as Aston always wants to sleep on the bed next to me. He puts his cold nose on my face like a kiss, I pet him, and I fall asleep next to him. Then I feel safe. He protects me.

Granddad is calling me; he says it is time to take Aston out for a walk. I have to go. I hope you learned something about dogs. Don’t forget to come and say hi to Aston and me if you meet us in the street. He loves to make new friends. And my granddad is really nice too.