Baby Robert’s delightful interactions with the ever-so-gentle family Labrador Retriever Kobe are sure to warm the coldest heart. In this time of doom-scrolling, the videos of baby Robert and Kobe are a breath of fresh air. Cute isn’t an adequate description. As one wistful YouTube viewer muses, “Robert is a precious little boy. What a bonus and a delight for him to have such a loyal, protective, patient dog as Kobe! It’s hard enough finding men who can be like Kobe. And that’s a dog!”
Even by the standards of Labrador Retrievers – a breed known to be particularly good with young children – Kobe is exceptionally gentle and intuitive. No wonder the videos of Robert and Kobe posted by the Happy Chocolate Family – presumably the name of the YouTube channel comes from the immaculately groomed family dog Kobe’s shiny chocolate coat – have such an avid following. This wholesome video, aptly titled “Sweetest moment I’ve ever seen,” has 2.3M YouTube views. Enjoy.
This being The Music Man, there is a music angle. From Patti Page (How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?) to Led Zeppelin (Bron-Y-Aur Stomp) to Snoop Dogg (Doggy Dogg World) to Luke Bryan (Little Boys Grow Up and Dogs Get Old), songs about man’s best friend are threaded through popular music. We will look at the song 10-year-old Elvis Presley elected to sing at his first public appearance. At an agricultural show in Tupelo, Mississippi, dressed in a cowboy outfit, young Elvis stood on a stool to get near the mic.
Elvis sang Red Foley’s classic 1935 song about the special relationship between a boy and a dog, Old Shep. Elvis was placed 5th, which won him free fairground rides. At 16, Elvis again chose Old Shep for a high school singing contest. He was given an encore. In 1956, Elvis released Old Shep as a US single. The song then appeared on several Elvis albums and compilations. Be warned, as befits a song Elvis first sang as a child, Old Shep is one of the more sentimental songs in his repertoire. It’s a real tearjerker.
The song Old Shep reminds us that life isn’t always as smooth as one would like. As every parent of young children who bond with a family pet knows, cats and dogs have comparatively short lifespans. Fortunately, Kobe is a young dog (barely two years older than Robert) with plenty of years to luxuriate in his best life with Robert, who is now more a tyke than a baby.
Our last video, a YouTube short, shows Robert old enough to walk and play dress-up. He sure makes a good man-in-black secret agent. Viewer Oliver Hickman comments, “Little Robert’s secret agent glasses are marvellous – I think big brother Kobe needs a matching pair!” Oliver Hickman makes a good point.