Have you ever been to one of those shows where the animals are so well trained that they seem smarter than the humans. We recently saw such a display at the Sight and Sound Theatre in Lancaster. Animals run down the aisle, across the stage and fly through the air all on cue. A few years ago I saw Siegfried and Roy and was amazed how the wild animals performed during the show.
With this in mind I’ve been having a little fun in my own neighborhood. Several of my neighbors walk their dog past my home at least once a day if not more frequent. I like to spend time in my garage so I keep a bag of dog treats on hand and as the dog walkers come by and I treat each pooch to a tasty snack. It’s amazing how quickly they catch on. My favorite dog is an older black lab named “Wrigley”. (They moved here from Chicago) Wrigley weighs a good seventy pounds and he scopes out my house every time he comes by. His owner swears he gets excited just seeing my truck in the driveway. When I appear in the driveway his ears perk up and he comes running, dragging his master behind practically dislocating his shoulder. I’ve been thinking about appearing a little sooner to see how the dragging works out for about a block or so. Ok, maybe that’s a little sick.
Wouldn’t it be great if people had the attention span of a dog. Whenever I walk up to the counter and place my order at a fast food restaurant – “I’ll have the number three to go please”, why is it that the next question is always, “will that be for here or to go? ” Maybe I should carry treats with me and after a few trips they would remember me. I would simply pull a cookie out of my pocket and hold it at eye level as I place my request. Upon successfully executing my order I would flip them the cookie.
There was a joke circulating around the inter net that went basically like this. Lock your dog and you wife in the trunk of your car for an hour and see which one is going to be the happiest to see you when you open the trunk. Dogs have an amazing capacity for love and loyalty. They can be very sensitive to the moods and needs of their master. Maybe by considering the dog you can teach an old human a new trick.
