Do you remember our Bible eating dog, Pobby? She was a tiny stray Tim and I took in the day before Christmas Eve. At that time, we also had two large outside dogs. So, we kept little Pobby inside the house.

She loved looking out the glass-sliding door that led to the backyard. She would sit there quietly and all at once she would erupt into ferocious barking. Let me tell you, she was slinging the dog slobber. Naturally we would ask, “What Pobby, what?” That seemed to lead to more barking as if we were encouraging her.

One day we were smart and realized that when she was barking, Papaw’s cows had wandered to the other side of our backyard fence. When we heard her barking, we would go down to the basement and let the two big dogs inside. Then we would open the back door. Immediately, she leapt across the threshold and ran as hard as she could toward where the cows were standing.

I always thought it was funny since the cows just looked at her as they slowly chewed on the grass. They knew she was no threat.

One day, Tim and I realized the cows were walking up the hill and to the back of our yard. We got the other dogs in the basement and then opened the back door. “Go bark at the cows Pobby!” But she didn’t do anything but turn her head as she looked as us. So, we both said it again. She just sat there, but when she saw the cows, she tore off in a mad dash toward the fence. She barked and barked and the cows chewed and chewed.

The same thing happened again a few days later. “Go bark at the cows Pobby!” She sat there and looked at us in complete confusion. Tim asked, “What is going on with this dog?” She immediately began to bark and ran to the fence.

The next time one of us happened to use the word “what,” she ran to the back door and barked. That’s when we realized Pobby didn’t understand what the word cow meant. She thought the word “What” was what we called the cows. Seriously. When we would say. “What, Pobby what?” she thought we were referring to the cows as whats.
So, the next time we let her out, we said, “Go get those whats Pobby!”

“Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord: give me understanding according to thy word.” Psalm 119:169 (KJV)

It’s cute when a dog or any pet gets confused on our words. But as Believers it is very important to be sure of our understanding of the word. And not just for ourselves for we are to be an example to others and help lead them to the Lord if they don’t know Him.

To this day, I still slip and call a cow a "what." So if I say, "Look at all of those whats in the field," just smile and go along with me.

Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.