Big dogs on leashes come down out street barking. Dogs wait after school to meet their kid; they race around and jump. Dogs sit on park benches. They come out from behind bushes. Dogs on the way to school. Dogs on the way home. Dogs at Greenlake and the park and peering out car windows at the shopping store. Dogs tied up next to Ken’s market. Dogs at birthday parties.

Every one now an opportunity for Rose to get another sticker on her chart.

Two weeks ago Rose announced to us that she wanted a dog chart. She wanted a sticker for every time she didn’t freak out around a dog. And she immediately started getting three stickers a day. She didn’t just not shy away; she approached dogs, asked if she could pet them, held out her hand to be licked. This is the same child who basically missed all the fun at a birthday party because there was a very old dog sleeping on the sofa. Rose amazes me.