What Do Dogs Know?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I have posted this picture of Remy before, but it is one of my favorites. There is nothing more wonderful than seeing that smile on a dog’s face. I didn’t have dogs or any pets when I was growing up. I actually didn’t give that much thought when I was a kid. It’s not that I didn’t like dogs and cats, but I guess I was too busy outside, spending time at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, or playing with my dolls when I was inside.

I first became a life-long dog lover when I started dating my husband, Joe. He had his dog, Sandy, from the time he was about 9 years old until he was about 26 or 27. Yes, she lived to almost 20 years. I’m not going to go through all of the pups that have entered our lives, as you can read about them, from their point of view, in my novel A Life Time After Time.

Those of you who love dogs know that they love you back unconditionally. They don’t care what you look like, what your political views are, where you live, or where you work. But I feel it goes even beyond that, at least with some dogs and some people. Case in point is Joe. I believe he has some kind of aura that dogs sense, because they almost always come up to him, no matter where he is.

Once he was taking a break outside, and there was a dog across the street hanging out with some construction guys. When he saw Joe, he ran across the street with a friendly wag and demanded Joe give him some pets, which of course Joe happily obliged. We were in a Crate and Barrel one day, and out of nowhere, this dog came running up to Joe, again wanting the pets. I’m not sure what he was doing in that store, but once he caught Joe’s eye, that was it. Joe is an audiologist at the VA Hospital here in town, and he frequently has patients with service dogs. Sometimes he has to ask that the dog be moved so he can place headphones on a patient or seat the patient in a certain way to do his testing. As he was doing this one day, his patient told him that the dog would only listen to his (meaning the patient) commands. He would say “Lucy front” or “Lucy side,” just depending on where Lucy needed to be situated.

As Joe was busy positioning the patient for his testing, without thinking, he said “Lucy side,” and Lucy listened to Joe’s command. His patient could not believe it. Employees at the VA are told not to interact or pet service dogs, yet most of those dogs come up to Joe asking for exactly that.

I also believe that dogs understand and know their humans maybe even more than we know them. I had my own experience once with my dog, Buck, in that regard. Our other dog, Barley, had developed a sudden back spasm, and she was screaming in pain. Joe was able to calm her down, and the spasm eventually subsided, but he decided to stay with her throughout the night. I went up to bed with Buck. Obviously I was very concerned and scared for Barley, so after I was in bed a short while, I decided I had to go see how she was doing. Buck had curled up on Joe’s pillow with her head near mine. As I tried to get up, she placed her head on my shoulder and pushed down hard so I couldn’t move. She was telling me to stay put and let Joe take care of Barley. And she was right! By morning, Barley was fine, although we did get her checked out, of course.

All of our pups have been there for us when we truly needed them, and I could go on and on about the ways they have given us so much more than we have given them. I’m sure you have similar stories of your own. I sometimes wish I did have a dog or two when I was growing up. Mom was a single parent back in the 1950s and 60s and more than likely didn’t want to add to her already very full plate. Maybe that’s why I never felt like asking her if we could have a dog. I knew the time wasn’t right. Now I can’t imagine not having a dog in my life.

When our previous dog, Bailey, died, we went over a year without a pup in the house. It’s said you should let the dog pick you, not the other way around. All of our dogs did pick me and/or Joe, and Remy is no exception. When we walked into the room where she was staying, there were several people in that room, but Remy took one look at me, ran to me, and all of her 85 pounds practically jumped into my arms. She’s been at my side ever since. She was a service dog, retired now, and I’m thrilled that we are able to make her retirement years the absolute best.

So what do dogs know? So much more than we can ever imagine.

I hope you enjoy your day. Remember to keep reading, keep writing, and as always, thanks for stopping by!