Og! Eat!

Dear Jack,

After the Red Poppy Festival yesterday, the Fords came over with their dogs, Gracie and Lincoln. You have been around the two dogs before, and I knew that you liked them a lot, but your boldness in the face of animals that stand significantly taller than you do was amazing to me.

The dogs were very thirsty after walking around the festival for an hour and a half, so I filled up the water table both for them and for you. You quickly came to the understanding that the dogs were thirsty and were desperate enough to even drink from a cup in your hand.

You kept following the dogs around with that cup, saying "Og! Og! Og!" over and over again. I found the word, which was clearly "dog" without the "d" very strange. It wasn't until the dogs left that I realized it was first time you had used the name of the animal and not the sound they make... dog, not ruff-ruff.

Even once the dogs were no longer thirsty, you continued to try to give them water until Mrs. Ford introduced the idea of giving the dogs a treat. She handed you a dog treat and then you walked over to give it to Lincoln (your favorite of the two dogs). I marveled both at your willingness to stick your little hand into that big jaw and Lincoln's gentleness in taking the tiny treat from your hand.

After each feeding, you would run back to Mrs. Ford. "Eat! Eat!" you called, "More eat! Og! Eat!" Dog treat! More treats for the dogs! I have no idea how many of those treats your would have given Lincoln had Mrs. Ford not convinced you that they were all gone after four or five.

My favorite moment, though, was when your sister was learning to give Gracie commands. Sit! she told Gracie. You thought this was a great idea. You brought a chair over for Gracie and another chair for Lincoln. Then you pointed at the chair "Acie! Sit!" "Con! Sit!" Gracie sit. Lincoln sit. We had to explain that dogs (at least big dogs like Gracie and Lincoln) don't sit in kids' chairs.

You had so much fun on your doggie play date. The nice thing is, that you have helped a friend. Mrs. Ford and Mr. Ford will be having a baby soon and when they do, the dogs are one step closer to being fully convinced that little humans are fun to be around.

Love,
Mom