Kidsday: My clever dog, Bob

Bob was once our dog, though only for a single year. During that year, we trained him into a state of obedience and loyalty. He was to be trained in order to become a Seeing Eye dog, or a dog that guides a blind person.

Training wasn't necessarily as hard on us as it was on him. Unfortunately discipline wasn't always to his liking; puppy years were all about fun and games. Bob was definitely a crazed dog with pretty much of an appetite for everything, including paper cups.

Already, you may be wondering: Why name your dog Bob? Well, in simple words, we didn't. Dogs at the Guide Dog Foundation are named by people who sponsor the dogs who are training to help the blind.

Although he was hard to train because he was so playful all the time, we loved him and he loved us. Throughout the year, we finally got him to be very well behaved, for the most part.

What was next to come were tests to see if he was eligible to become a Seeing Eye dog -- tests that would take four whole months. The way it would work for the test was: three strikes, and you're out . . . literally. After four months passed, we found out that Bob had failed on account of chasing squirrels.

Awe-struck as we were, we were also baffled. Baffled by the fact that Bob had chased a squirrel. Bob had never done such a thing while we had him, yet on his own he attempted to do so.

It was then and there that it occurred to me that that little rascal of a dog was more clever than I thought. Bob didn't chase the squirrel on impulse, but rather through clever thinking. By chasing that squirrel, he was surely going to fail. Then that would mean he could come and live with us forever. Or maybe he could've just been running as fast as his legs could carry him out of the training facility and back home. Either way, it was out of love that he did this. Unbroken love that is. You can't break puppy love, and Bob was going to make every endeavor to overcome the obstacles to prevent that from happening.

We later adopted Bob, brought him back to our home and made sure to keep him there. And so we have for the past five years. From all this, I learned that nothing takes the place of puppy love. I love my dog Bob.

Game review: Karaoke Revolution GLEE

Karaoke Revolution GLEE (Vol. 3) is based on the show "Glee's" season two song selections. This game is made for both Wii and Xbox systems. The game offers song selections of duets and solos. My friends and I agreed after finishing the game that it was quite hard to start and load the game, but it might have just been trouble with the Xbox. Even though we had trouble in the beginning of the game, we all agreed this game is uplifting, fun and puts a smile on your face. This game will bring you absolute glee!

--Kidsday Reporter Meg Cotter, 12, New Hyde Park