By Lisa Cohn

Boy meets dog. Dog kisses boy.

When we leave the library or book store, when we’re walking in the forest near our house, when we’re shopping in Portland–one of the dog-friendliest cities in the country–the story is often the same.

Boy meets dog. Then there’s a spontaneous burst of kisses, hugs, and smiles.

Lately, the boy, Michael, age 7, has taken to competing with me in a name-that-dog contest (after, of course, the kiss-and-hug moment). I’m sorry to report that I’m losing at this competition; he’s much quicker to come up with the names of the dogs’ breeds: Boston terrier, Australian shepherd, pug, French bulldog, doodle…

The conversation with the dog’s best friend always goes like this: “Your dog is so cute,” says Michael. “Isn’t that a French bulldog? Or is he or she a mix?”

When I was a kid Michael’s age, I studied books about dogs to learn the names of their breeds, and until recently, I’ve always been the one to win the Name That Breed competition.

But I’m losing, happily, to the youngest dog lover in our home.

Along with learning the names of all the different dog breeds, we study service and therapy animals. We have friends with autism service dogs,  a relative with an emotional support dog, and one of Michael’s friends who is just learning to read participates in a read-to-the-dog program. In this type of program, kids read to calm, patient, non-judgmental dogs to improve their literacy skills.

Hopefully, some day, our Hudson, a golden retriever, will be a read-to-the-dog hero.

In the near future, he’ll be a character in our next kids’ dog book.

In the meantime, however, he’s another source of kisses, hugs and love.

When Hudson meets a boy or girl on the street, in the forest, or in a store, he’s quick to ensure the child gets the kisses he or she deserves.