This meme reminded me of two incidents that involved my dog, Flyer (2000-2013).

ON THE FLOOR

We would finish our dinner plates, which almost never had remaining food, and set them on the floor for Flyer to give them a tongue cleaning.

One day at lunch, I was dining at First Watch with a friend. I finished my meal and automatically set my cleaned plate on the floor.

My friend looked at me and laughed. “Is this some new ritual I’ve not heard of yet?”

I didn’t follow what he was saying until he indicated my plate on the floor of First Watch!

NO NEED TO WASH PLATES

Some friends asked if their two sons, the same ages as my older two sons, could stay with us for the day while they attended to out of town family business. It was great because my two sons and their sons were each adopted within four years and had become good friends.

We ate our supper down in the basement where we had the family room and dining room set up. As each of us cleaned our plates, we set them on the floor and our two young guests followed suit. Flyer happily cleaned all the dinner plates.

Joey helped me carry the five dinner plates and utensils upstairs to the kitchen. I began placing the dinner plates back into the cabinet.

Joey asked, “Aren’t you going to wash them or put them in the dish washer?”

“Oh, I don’t need to. Flyer cleaned them thoroughly.”

Joey began becoming more concerned. “Don’t you think you should put them in the dishwasher?”

“It would be a waste of water. Flyer is so good at cleaning them.”

Several hours later, after the guests returned home, their mother called me. “Darin, will you please tell Joey you were just joking about Flyer licking the plates clean?” she laughed.

“Oh, my gosh! I’m so glad you called me. I completely forgot to take them out of the cabinet to put in the dishwasher!”