I Tell Bob About Why We Wear Poppies

Alexandra Turnbull
Nov 7 · 4 min read
He’s so tired

This story is about my dog, Bob, who is a Dalmatian cross Collie. He is very nosy and has an opinion about EVERYTHING! Today I tell Bob all about why we wear poppies.

So the other day, Bob had a Bonfire party, and everyone enjoyed it! The feeling continued even after he went to bed, because he told me that, “It was the best night, ever!” But today, Bob went on a walk with me and got a poppy, so I told him why we all wear poppies.

Bob had a really good night. Yep, and he didn’t even wake up to go to the toilet all night (or wet the bed!), so it really was a good night’s sleep. By the time he woke up, even mum, dad and I were already up! He thought to himself, I hope I am ok and not getting sick! As he walked into the kitchen, everyone said, “Good morning, Bob”. Then he had his breakfast, and decided what to do for the day.

He thought about going for a walk with me, so he asked me and I asked, “Where to?” He said, “Just to the garden centre,” so I agreed to go. So, into the car we got, but while we were on our way, Bob asked, “What are those things on the pole?” Bob had spotted the huge plastic red, black and white flowers along the pavement and outside businesses. I told him, “Those are poppies.” Bob was curious about them, so he asked, “Oh, why are they there?” So I told him, “They are there so that we can remember all of the people who died in the war. We celebrate the end of the war by getting a red poppy and putting it on our coats. And then, on the 11th of November, at 11 o’clock, we stop everything that we are doing and wait in silence for two minutes to pay our respects to the people who died in the war.” Bob said, “Oh, maybe I should get a poppy.” And so he did.

As we arrived, straight away Bob started looking for a poppy. He didn’t go crazy, running and panting everywhere. No, instead he was casual and cool, just like he usually behaved. A sniff here, a wander there, and then, ah ha! Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a table with people selling poppies. He took me over with him and straight away, we got a poppy so I helped him put it on his collar.

As it was a garden centre, with Christmas just next month, you can imagine how Christmassy it was — he just wanted everything! I said, “Bob, I shall allow you to get two gifts if they are small, but if it is big, you shall only get the one.” He went straight to the Christmas aisles and spent the next 20 minutes looking. He finally found something and brought me over as quickly as he could, and it was this beautiful nativity set. I said, “Are you sure that is everything that you want?” And he said, “Yes.”

He put it in his shopping bag so I asked him if he wanted to go into the cafe and he said, “Yes.” I ordered a hotdog and Bob got a dog-friendly burger and chips, and we both agreed that that cafe was the best one yet. When we finished, it was time to go home. Bob had enjoyed the day, but he was very glad that he got his poppy.

When I wasn’t looking, he got a purple poppy and even paid the donation all by himself. As we got into the car, I noticed his second poppy, so I asked, “What? Why did you get a purple poppy?” And it was my turn to learn something. Bob said, “I overheard the poppy people talking, and they said that the purple poppies are to remember all of the animals that died during the war. Also, you are meant to put it on my collar.” I asked him which animals had died in the war. “Oh, there were loads, but mainly horses, donkeys, birds … and dogs.” His eyes got a little watery as he said that, and he looked away quickly, hoping I hadn’t seen. I gave him a quick hug, and said, “Well, you learn something new everyday!” And I put it on his collar and he was feeling proud.

I love pets and I want to make the world a better place for animals. I also enjoy baking dog biscuits and listening to music.

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