Smart Paws

During my lifetime I have met smart dogs. I grew up with bird dogs. Hunting was in my family’s blood. The selection and training of fine dogs was the meat of endless conversations. I am setting out to tell you a dog story that is intertwined with other dog stories and facts about the status of dogs today. The hero of the basic tale is my service dog named Rusty.

A cold wet nose touching my hand has always meant comfort to me. This is a story about one particular cold nose and the everlasting impact he has had on my life. It is snatches of my life as a kid with a disability as well as embracing things I have studied along with tidbits learned from sharing my life with dogs, which are my building blocks. As I am counting my blessings I wish to take you through our adventures and share some lessons learned. This has been a journey from despair to empowerment.

Choosing recovery filled me with an almost manic sense of urgency. Upon finding myself so extremely ill I felt like curling up and dying. Escape from pain and depression held out a magical lure. I just needed the right wizard to assist my escape. Physically I felt washed up but my mind screamed that I needed to get my priorities straight and take care of business. It was time to fight the odds as I had done before. Life was worth the fight. This was to be no different even though I felt ancient and worn out.

That was when I sat down at my computer and began looking for the perfect dog. It was obvious to me that I needed a helper dog to make getting about easier and as a spirit guide, to find my way through the months, even years, of treatment I faced. This was a lot to expect but I knew such a dog was out there and I would find him or her. In my mind I saw connectedness between the dog I chose and my guide to recovery.

I was ready to go anywhere to find my special partner. My physical condition was not keeping me from having the one medicine I knew would help me most. Travel to the Tetons and getting Rusty was an enormous challenge. I knew the strength gained by the natural world of mountains and desert, along with Rusty, would inspire my will. Buoyed by the knowledge Rusty was at the end of that rainbow kept me going.

The next day was the 4th of July with all its hoopla and we were headed out for Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was a beautiful ride from Salt Lake City, after we came to over seat allotments. Rusty was determined to acquire more space than we could give him. His solution was to stretch out on top of me in the passenger seat.

After lunch at a pizza parlor with patio dining, Rusty provided us with a demonstration of just what a nose he has for leftovers. He didn’t know yet not to steal a tasty morsel. This sneaky behavior was quickly eliminated with much needed training. He was a quick study, fortunately.

Later we wandered around Jackson Hole. A fake gun fight took place in the street right in front of where we were standing. The staged fight triggered a car alarm to go off nearby. Rusty sat by my side and looked at the silly people getting all excited. This amazing, new to us, pup just acted as though he had spent his whole life with us. His blasé approach was endearing, not to mention welcome. He made sure we understood he was up for any adventure we could come up with. I’m convinced if we were mountain climbers he would have climbed right along with us.

Classes began and we both made friends. Rusty greeted everyone with his infectious enthusiasm. His view of the world is to embrace everyone as a potential friend. There were as many disabling conditions as pupils. A wide variety of ages were in attendance. We all had a common need. That need was to have our dogs by our sides at all times performing various tasks our individual conditions required.

I was getting more unsteady on my feet as my toxic level rose. Rusty discovered that leaning against me and stepping on my left foot when a wave of dizziness hit was stabilizing. I didn’t have the wits to teach him that. He figured it out on his own. When I told the trainer about it in a previous class she gave me a rather incredulous look in return. One day Rusty did it in class. I got the trainers attention so she got to see him in action. That impressed her.

On one trip a few years ago I was walking slowly along the beach with Larry. The dogs were off romping at a distance. I looked up, to my amazement I saw Rusty coming toward me with a sea gull in his mouth. He had actually caught one! He brought it directly to me and dropped it about five feet in front of me. The poor bird was in shock so it just laid there not ruffling even a feather. I touched and checked it all over looking for injury. This beautiful creature was totally unharmed. After we walked away several yards the bird got up and flew off . Instinct had taken over Rusty’s dear doggie brain and he brought me the best gift he could ever imagine giving to me. I love the old quote by Josh Billings, “A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself ”. This gift certainly was the greatest gift a bird dog could think to bestow upon the person he loved most. After the initial shock I was so touched by this act of love.

Actually I am most amazed all the time by people who haven’t the foggiest when it comes to appreciating animal intelligence and sensitivity. Animal intelligence studies have become a funding priority. University research results have provided a window on the actual abilities various species possess. By addressing perceptual differences, while acknowledging individual and species differences, we can come closer to effective understanding of the mental and physical processes of our fellow creatures. Dogs, because of their well established bond with humans, have been the focus of much of this study.

We have shown our appreciation in art renderings as well as the continuity of our bond. The dog has been lovingly represented abstractly and in great detail throughout history. We can only imagine all those thousands of years of this partnership before there were written or artistic records. It is these archeological finds we must rely upon to visualize the daily life of our ancestors and their canines.

It is generally considered true that all dogs of today evolved from wolves. Digs at ancient archeological sites indicate there has been a wolf human link as far back as forty thousand years. Man has chosen a wide variety of applications to utilize the canine since they insinuated themselves into human communities.

The course of human migrations radiating from Africa out to encompass the globe is also reflected in the archeological findings of dogs and the transition of wolves into dogs. The areas of the globe where humans first settled, indicates the longest continuous history of association with our canine friends.

The dog in all its myriad varieties, at this point in time, can be considered for multiple purposes in service to humans. There is always he totally untrained best friend to the amazingly well trained search and rescue, guide or police K-9 dogs. Collectively we are realizing just how intelligent dogs are..Responsiveness to training demands has leapt forward with the explosion in operant conditioning. Our dogs are showing us just how very smart they are now that we have figured out how to teach them. Using a positive method has made a world of difference.