Reading with Rover
39.4858 -75.009233
Interestingly, this is very similar to a scavenger hunt I was going to list a few years ago.
When grossi first published this I wondered how I was going to complete it. She said to get creative if you did not have a child. Children I have, pooches I don’t. It seemed like Beetle must have a stuffed dog somewhere . . .
All that changed yesterday. My in-laws adopted Molly, a pug, from a friend of Gert’s. Beetle really likes her and was eager to return today. So much so she agreed to read to Molly.
Beetle is an avid reader. But a four-year-old reading is a little different than an adult. While she can memorize (I have wonderful video of Beetle and Gert reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom when she was two. She nailed each word because she memorized it!), and she can re-tell a familiar story, reading the actual words is still a future skill. That’s how God Understands (ISBN 0-570-05494-X; a gift from fellow terracacher flowers22) became a story about a bear. That’s the beauty, however, of reading to a dog. Silly dogs can’t tell you are making the thing up as you go along.
Molly was attentive to Beetle’s story. She is a good listener, even as the storyteller drifted off-topic. Beetle enjoys reading and telling stories so she was more than happy to oblige for this hunt. Frankly, I was just there to document what very well may have occurred anyhow. 
Thanks for the fun with my family.
Also blogged on this date . . .
- Lighting Alive - 2008
- Mother Earth's lips - 2008
- A Tank Commander - 2008
- White Tail Deer - 2008
- Terra-Dogs! - 2008
- Oh' Deer Me - 2008
- Let's Get With It, Millville - 2008
- On Judging - 2007
- Got an Extra Half Billion Sitting Around? - 2006
- The Anatomy of a Tax - 2006
- County Taxes Rise Despite What Freeholders Say - 2006
- The Ridiculous Cost of Education - 2005
- Light Blogging the Last Couple Days - 2005
- My Trip Home - 1999
- Michelle Shocked, Bruce Cockburn, Bob Weir & Rob Wasserman - 1992
- Apology - 1989
By flowers22 on Jul 28, 2008
Beetle needs a dog of her own.
By Bob on Jul 28, 2008
No more animals. We have Hopper and Froggy already. We buried ‘Nado. I don’t need any more animals.
By flowers22 on Jul 28, 2008
I understand your feeling about animals - particularly after losing such a long-time family member. However, I see the rewards of having a pet…emotional rewards and educational ones too.
I see a real connection with the kids and Sadie - they think about her care and comfort. They realize we have to consider her when we’re gone for the day. They look forward to arriving home to see her. It’s a win-win with the dog at our house and I recommend the experience to all.
We had a dog growing up; we handled it. If we can do it, so can you…if you choose.
By flowers22 on Jul 28, 2008
I understand your feeling about animals - particularly after losing such a long-time family member. However, I see the rewards of having a pet…emotional rewards and educational ones too.
I see a real connection with the kids and Sadie - they think about her care and comfort. They realize we have to consider her when we’re gone for the day. They look forward to arriving home to see her. It’s a win-win with the dog at our house and I recommend the experience to all.
We had a dog growing up; we handled it. If we can do it, so can you…if you choose.
It did take me a long time to agree to another pet after Barney died. I didn’t want to ‘betray’ Barney because I thought a new pet would be considered a ‘replacement’ for the one we lost. I didn’t want to replace Barney. In hindsight, that was silly.
A new pet is a new pet - not a replacement. We choose to have a pet and see the benefits of having her as part of our lives. In no way do we think of her as a burden…she’s all asset.
By Bob on Jul 28, 2008
Simple question: who cleans up the poop? Until that is adequately addressed, this is moot.
Furthermore, our dog growing up was not all fun and games. Let’s see, Nimbus peed on everything, thus her name. Angel may have been wonderful, but was used against me. I seem to remember hearing a lot of “Mom and Dad love the dog more than you because they got her before you.” And she died.
There’s poop and walking and care that our family does not need to be involved in. I vote no.
By flowers22 on Jul 28, 2008
I understand your concerns about a pet and if it’s not a family decision to have one, it shouldn’t happen. That wouldn’t be fair to the animal.
I just encourage you to think about one and know that it can be rewarding. It is for many families - ours included.
As for our childhood pets, Nimbus was named after a cloud - she was dark-colored like a cloud. I have no recollection of repeated peeing in the house. And yes, pets die. That’s part of life and a lesson for us all. If you have issues about what kids say to each other, I think that’s something you have to deal with yourself. Kids will say all sorts of things. Your example can be used in your house too - with books, toys, cars, etc…anything that arrived before Fritz. It’s a ‘kid thing’ and shouldn’t be internalized for life. I think I told you that you were adopted too - but that wasn’t the case either. We were kids.
As for poop, there is no cleaning done here. We have a dog that poops outside so there is no inside mess. Also, we have a dog suitable for the size of our yard…we rarely see any residue out there. I think the sprinkler systen helps break down the waste too. I walk on the grass extensively and don’t have any issues with stepping on piles.
We didn’t just get any pet. Unlike our children where we took what we got and loved them, we researched a suitable pet - kind, breed, size, temperment, etc. We are happy with our choice. Our pet brings joy to our life every single day.