Saying grace before eating a meal is a common practice in many religious households, but typically, it’s reserved for humans only. One Texas family taught their three dogs to “say grace” before eating, and their toddler has deemed it her responsibility now.
Alora Brim is a three-year-old from Round Rock, Texas, who’s the star of the show in her mom, Katie Brim’s social media video, which has over 1.1 million likes on Instagram. In the video, Alora, the youngest of four children, can be seen walking with three dog food bowls to the family’s back door before going outside to three excited dogs. Then, she tells the dogs to “say grace,” at which point all three dogs lie down.
The toddler then places the dogs’ bowls in front of them and claps her hands before saying “Amen,” prompting the dogs to start eating the food. Katie Brim’s husband, Freddy, told Fox News Digital that he came up with the idea of training their dogs this way. He said, “I’d seen a sketch of dogs that actually cover their snout to say grace. I wanted them to wait to eat and then get released to eat, kind of a way of establishing that control that will make them wait, and we give them permission to eat.”
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The family’s three dogs, Maverick, Rosie and Ash, took to the routine when toddler Alora Brim said she wanted in on the tradition. Freddy said, “She wants to help with all the chores. So, she’s been helping carry the food out to them, and she started mimicking me.” He said it took him and his wife a minute to figure out what she was saying and soon realized she was saying “grace.” Freddy joked, “Now, that’s kind of her thing, so I’m not allowed to feed the dogs.”
Although the parents said they aren’t particularly religious, they said they are spiritual people, especially leaning in within the last few years. Katie Brim said their youngest child, Tristan, passed away in August 2022 from SIDS at just three months old, something that she said was “life-changing” and made her “look at the world in a whole different way.”
She said, “Being present and being grateful for even the small things, like having your dogs that your children love so much, is important to me.” Freddy Brim said he hopes little Alora feels a sense of accomplishment each time she feeds the dogs, saying she has a strong relationship with them.
The dad also noted that the family is cautious: They never let Alora Brim feed the dogs without parental supervision.