While trying to enjoy our morning coffee, we heard a bit of commotion coming from the office. As we ran in to see what the cats had gotten in to now, we got quite the surprise. There was Charlie – pawing through the filing cabinet!
What on earth could he be doing?
After cleaning up (apparently he had also found some treats), Charlie explained that he was looking for his adoption paperwork. Charlie was only 6 months old when he was adopted from the Golden Retriever Rescue Operated with Love Statewide (GRROWLS). Unfortunately for Charlie, puppies are often very busy being silly, sleeping, and zooming, and don’t have a lot of time to remember much from their early days. Though we have explained to Charlie that his first Mom and Dad loved him so much, they wanted him to have a better life and surrendered him, he still had questions about his Dog Mom and Dog Dad and where he came from.
As with most rescue dogs, we know very little about Charlie’s origins. This is the reason we were unable to sign him up for the Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study. We did our best to explain to Charlie that he came from a farm near Buffalo, NY, but it wasn’t enough and he was left with more questions than answers.
In our eyes, Charlie was our sweet little duck; it didn’t matter where he came from, just where we was right now! Thankfully, we had the perfect tool to help Charlie understand just what we meant.
What Kind of Dog am I?
A few months back we were contacted by Kathy and Kelly DiMario, a mother/daughter team who have written a children’s book about Kelly’s beloved dog Posha, titled “What Kind of Dog am I?”
The Inspiration
With the exception of knowing that Posha was dropped off at a home where breeders of pedigree dogs dumped non-pedigree puppies, little is known about her origin. She is often confused for a cross between many different breeds, such as the Shih Tzu, Poodle, Westie, and Goldendoodle.
Posha’s unique beauty along side her fun-loving, happy, playful personality soon caught attention everywhere she went. Mom, Kelly, was always asked the same question: “What kind of dog is that?” . This question got the wheels turning and soon Kelly and Kathy were writing a book all about Posha’s desire to find out what kind of dog she was.
This story follows Posha and her Mom’s frustration with not knowing what kind of dog she is and the subsequent journey as she figures out what really matters in life. The question “who am I?” is universal, but as humans and dogs, the authors believe that we are so much more than just the names that people use to define us. This story is heart warming and provides several teachable moments; opening the line of communication for children and their parents to discuss topics such as identity, self-esteem, bullying, adoption, or family dynamics/make-up.
Story Time
With the desire to help Charlie better understand who he is, we gave him the book to look over on his own. Charlie loved looking at all the colorful and beautifully painted images of Posha and her family, and was even more shocked when he found out the illustrator, Emily Foster, was still in high school! In fact, the whole MyDogLikes team was super impressed with this talented young woman.
Though the pictures looked (and tasted) pretty good, Charlie soon realized that he was going to need some help “getting the words off the page”. Luckily, his Dad was around to help him out! Story Time!!
After reading through it a couple of times, he finally started to put it all together. Turns out, it doesn’t matter if he came from a farm in Timbuktu or right down the road; he is Charlie, the sweet, funny, silly, ducky duck, that we love so much!
Charlie loved the story so much, he decided to share it the story with Harley and his Kitty Brothers too. Turns out the themes of love, acceptance, and defining your own identity are universal!
Why MyDogLikes: “What Kind of Dog Am I?”
This is a beautiful, heart warming, story about a dog’s journey to better understand “What Kind of Dog Am I?” The story pushes readers to look beyond the names, roles, and identities that one is assigned in life and instead explore the factors that make someone uniquely themselves. Filled with teachable moments, this book encourages children to better understand themselves and define their own identity. As a School Psychologist, I can see using this book with some of my students. So often, children have trouble defining who they are and what makes them special and unique. This beautifully illustrated story can help to begin the conversation about identity, self-esteem, adoption, or unique family dynamics/make-up.
What kind of Dog Am I? is now one of Charlie’s favorite bedtime stories.It is the perfect story to snuggle close to the ones that you love and be thankful for all the ways that you are uniquely you!
Think you know someone who would love to read What Kind of Dog Am I?
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Sounds like a great book, love the pics!
Thank you! I look forward to taking a copy into the school I work at!
My dogs are unique and special because they are both came from deplorable conditions and they are the best dogs ever !
We have a Hanging Tree Cow Dog. She loves to “herd” me through the house. She chatters constantly, and sounds like a monkey.
That does make her unique! I love their individual personalities!
I have a rescued Border Collie. I love his beauty, intelligence, and sensitivity. He lights up my life! 🙂
He sounds amazing!!! I love the unique blend of intelligence and sensitivity I have observed in border collies!
My Jade is a little brat but we love her! She is very happy to play with tennis balls.
Ha! We have a little frisbee brat here, so I think I get it!
We have not had a dog for a time but our daughter had the most beautiful pure-Bred German Shepherd. He loved children and his owner and he was so intelligent. He was one of the most beautiful animals I have ever known
I love the passion that you have for your daughter’s dog. It is clear that he was sooooo loved!
Love books which I can share with the kids
I think you’ll love this one then!
Looks like a wonderful book! I loved seeing the pics of Charlie and the book 🙂 My dog Diamond has unique markings. She’s a merle on white with a very pretty LH coat. She’s special because she is sweet, very loving, funny and smart.
She sounds amazing and beautiful! Thanks for checking it out!
My dog, Honey, is a Jack Russell terrier. She is so sweet and is always by my side, no matter what. She even comes in the bathroom and lays on the bath mat while I take a shower.
Ha!!! Shower dogs…what else would they dream of doing while you shower?
My dog has a special relationship with m 4 year old!
The bond between a dog and a child is beautiful!
Our dog is unique and special because she is so afraid of everything. She only trust us to take care of her. She would never survive with someone else.
It sounds like you have a really special bond!
My dogs aren’t really unique but they are very special at least to me. Rebel is a a rottweiler/pit bull mix who thinks he is a lap dog. He has 3 legs due to the fact he jumped the fence and someone shot him in the back left leg, he walked home and calmly climbed in my lap. Mighty Mouse is a chihuahua/ yorkieniese mix, he is the Alpha dog, he thinks he is 10 feet tall and bullet proof. He love to stand under Rebel and bark at everything that moves. Rebel is 5 weeks older then Mouse and they have been together since Mouse was 5 weeks old and they are lost without each other, and I would be lost without them. They are 9 years old now.
They sound like the perfect little family!!!
Though my dogs are both Shelties, they are both very different and unique. Shiloh is *huge* for a sheltie at 20″ tall. He’s easy going, loves everyone, fearless, and ready for anything. High energy and driven but with a great offswitch. He is my heart dog, and I know I could search the world and never find another dog quite like him. Wager is much smaller, only maybe 13 inches (the little wiggle butt won’t stand right for a measurement). Also high energy and driven, he doesn’t have quite the off-switch Shiloh does. He’s bold and cautious at the same time. Shiloh is a goofball, but Wager is a clown. I swear he does things intentionally to make you laugh.
The way that our dog protects my daughter is beautiful!
Here Chabacca talking…
Goliath – He came to the shelter due to a truck driver dumping him out on a bridge, in traffic, when he was 4 months old. Now, he’s around 5 years old, the community dog, and weighs in at around 130lbs. His massive size along with his sweet disposition is his best qualities!
Suzie – She was about 5 months old and was in the same shelter as Goliath. She “protected” me from all the other dogs and claimed me as hers. Her most endearing qualities is that she is so loyal and devoted to me, and when she’s happy, her tail wags in a complete circle instead of side to side =)
Chance – He’s my 12 year old Cocker Spaniel and my baby boy. When he has an accident in the floor (accidents happen in the bathroom), he gets a rag from the stack, puts it over the “accident”, then pushes the rag to the dirty clothes pile. Not kidding! He also gives awesome hugs & kisses, is a great babysitter (kids fight, run in the house, or get too loud, he barks at them, then comes to get me), and he tries to “talk” to me… and gets frustrated when I don’t understand =)
Scrappy – He was a stray that was found when he was about 5 weeks old.. he was still teething. We think he’s a shih-tzu, but not really sure and even tho he’s the smallest dog we have, he has taken a shine to my husband. It’s funny seeing this big man with this little girly dog, but it works. His best qualities is his playfulness, devotion to my husband, his learning to purr (the cat is a great teacher!), and he does figure 8’s in the yard before he does his business. very funny to watch!
What a wonderful family you have <3 <3
my puppy is very special to our family hes so funny and bring much joy to our family we have had him since he was 6 wks old and was the size of a coke can standing hes one of the family he goes every where with us
I have 3 black lab dogs and they are all very different, but one thing they have in common is how smart they are and how friendly they are to little kids.
she is my first dog and THE BEST dog ever! she’s so cute and snuggly and always has a bow in her hair!
We have a long haired Dachshund, he belonged to my MIL and she passed away. We moved in with her for five years so he became our dog too. It was hard on him, but he is used to our home and loves riding in the car and playing.
ncjeepster@aol.com
All 3 of our dogs are unique and spherical in their own way. Each one was adopted from a local shelter and really came into their own when we brought them home. Our beagle love to sing with the radio, our black lab loves to snuggle up with our cat and our mixed breed of we are not sure what. loves to come up to you and wink!
Laurie Emerson
Artie was scheduled to be put down in an hour. He was saved by a local rescue group that was there to save a German Shepard. We adopted Artie from them and he is so unique looking with his gold coat, and Alaskan Malamute mask, ears, tail and feet. He is also the sweetest dog and he loves to go on adventures with us. He will wear costumes and ham for the camera too.
His name is Elvis and he is a mini pincher, what makes him unique is that I saved him when he was 5 weeks old. He was very little and we call him Elvis because he is the king of dogs!
I have 4 grandfurbabies and 3 of them are dogs. These sweet dogs make my day whenever I see them. I win goodies for them once in awhile and I get the best greeting when I walk through the door. Lots of kisses and waiting to see what grandma brought them. Lol! I have a 9-month-old granddaughter and her bath toys look like dog chew toys so they chew them up. I told my daughter she needs to watch those baby toy stealers. I guess I need to bring them more toys. Thank you for the chance 🙂
My dog is an 8 year old german sheperd cross.I love her to bits!