It’s no secret my kids (and husband) are afraid of dogs.

I believe this fear comes from not being around dogs, not owning a dog, never having a dog (or pet) in our home.

The only contact any of them have with dogs is when an unassuming puppy wanders over, ears down, waiting for someone to respond with an “Awe, she’s so cute!” Instead, my crew sprints in opposite directions, just hoping to outrun our slowest team member.

The other day we were out for a walk on the beach and a lovely, little dog came walking past with its owner.

The dog appeared old with subtle grey highlights in her beard.

She was wearing a life jacket that I found adorable.

When the dog approached Chloe, our four year old, she squealed and scaled my leg like it was the first branch on a thirty foot tree.

She yelped to get the fierce, bearded, life-jacket wearing, elderly pooch to carry on her way and said to me, “Mommy, I’m scared of dogs.”

We continued our walk and we talked about animals and how the dog just wanted to say “Hi” or “Wanna go for a swim? Safety first, I’m wearing my life jacket.” But Chloe wanted nothing to do with her.

We noticed something in the distance that had attracted a swarm of bugs and when we got close enough to discover a fish carcass that had washed on shore, it was a little gross.

The eyes were missing, the body was split open and it was being eaten by local insects. I almost couldn’t look.

Chloe knelt beside the dead fish and said to me, “Awe, it’s adorable.”