If Dogs Could Talk . . .

Generally when pondering this question, I think it would be a great thing if dogs could talk. After all I am a vet tech and it would make our job much easier if the patient could just say, "it's my right thirteenth rib that hurts," or, "I ate three packages of floss last night," or, "I'm not really sick but if I act like I am and refuse to eat then they offer me steak," etc. I also think it would be nice at those times when I am feeling down and my dear sweet dog comes up to snuggle to know what he would say if he could express what his eyes show. (Although it might sound something like, "honestly lady, you think you have it bad, I get ignored all day and find going out to the bathroom super exciting because it means I am not being climbed all over by that wierd little person you brought home or being kicked out of bed. . . .") Or, it might be what his eyes express which would be nice. The reason this all came up though, was because the other night I was horrified to realize just how much the dog really understands. Dan and I were having a casual conversation when a certain three letter word starting with "S" and ending with "x" came up. To our shock Solo jumped off the bed and excitedly headed down the hallway. This may not seem significant to many people, however if you have a dog that is allowed on your bed you probably understand that in order to have privacy sometimes they need to be banished from the room. Now, Dan happens to be a major sucker for those puppy-dog-eyes, which means every time Solo gets locked out he gets some treats or a bone to chew. So, why was the dog so excited at that three letter word? He actually recognized it as his personal treat time. Now, I at first thought there is no way on earth it was intentional, so we tested it a few more times. Each time it was said Solo once again got excited and then finally perturbed that nothing was happening. Sadly, for him no one got lucky that night, and I was grateful that the dog can't talk to tell you all the other things he may or may not understand. Mostly, it was just a little spooky and reminded me not to underestimate how smart he is. After all, he is smart enough to realize that if you come when called that just means your play time ends short, and if the door is open make a break for it, because you may not get time to play later.