The Way to a Dog's Heart...

When Ally visits us, she bursts through the door, runs down the hallway and jumps onto the couch. She either lands on Dave's lap, or just to his left, from which position she immediately proceeds to sit on his lap. After she greets Dave, she greets me. If I'm sitting on the couch, she'll sit on my lap, too. If I'm sitting in a chair, she comes alongside the chair and pokes her nose into my lap or near my hand.

Over the past couple of months, Ally and Dave have formed a special bond: they love eating junk food together. Tonight's treat was popcorn:



As you can see, Ally waited patiently until Dave told her she could get the popcorn. I guess she learned something in obedience classes after all (and I thought the classes were for Jonathan and Maggie!). What I couldn't capture on camera is the amount of effort Ally expends consuming each kernel of popcorn. One piece requires several seconds of chomping, moving her tongue this way and that, and eventually manipulating the entire morsel down her throat. She hangs in there and gets her way in the end, though.