Let’s face it. Most dogs can’t read, at least not the dogs I’ve met.
So I decided to write a story just for dogs. I’d use words dogs knew and pictures they could sniff. Then I’d try to bake the story in a book.
I think baking must be like writing. You put together the right ingredients, mix them up, and soon you get a story – or cookies.
My mother thought a baked book for dogs was a great idea. She said I might become a famous canine author some day. I wish.
But first I needed a place to bake the book. So I dug a big hole in the yard. I thought it could be like the oven my mother uses to bake cookies.
Finding pictures and words
Next, I tried to find pictures and words dogs would know. It was sort of like a treasure hunt.
I sniffed around the yard and found a bone I buried a while ago. (I was actually looking for that bone.) I thought it would make a good smelly picture. I also dug up some toys and a tennis ball that I forgot about, and I stole some dog food and biscuits from the house. That was probably enough for the book, although I almost grabbed a dirty sock, an old towel, and the cat. He doesn’t like me very much anyway.
It was harder to find the right words. Some dogs have a larger vocabulary than others. I got a few easy words from my pal the Border Collie. I also asked a Beagle, but he didn’t know any.
Baking the book
I put all the pictures and words together in a pile near the hole and dropped them in one at a time. I found a long stick so I could mix everything together. Finally, I covered the hole with dirt and waited.
Soon two dogs from the neighborhood came by and sniffed around the hole. I guess that meant the book was really baking. Hopefully it was the book and not some smelly weeds, but I couldn’t be sure. I’d never baked a book before.
Suddenly the book popped out like a Jack-In-the-Box toy. It was muddy, but I opened it up anyway. I wanted to see if the pictures were stinky enough and if the words would be easy enough for dogs to read.
The book seemed just right. I patted myself on the back and invited some dogs over to see if they could read the book. Only an Afghan Hound got confused. The other dogs sniffed the pictures and barked at the words. They loved it.
Now I was ready for my book tour.
