I've been thinking about this for a while. We all stay in touch - sporadically - occasional emails and phone calls where we try to "catch up", but there are so many things that happen to us between times, it would be impossible to remember to talk about all of them. So we try to update the really important highlights and some of the other stuff gets lost.
But, you see, some of "the other stuff" - the little things - funny or heartwarming things - can also be helpful in keeping up with what we're feeling and experiencing on a daily basis. It can be a window into who we really are.
For instance - A couple of nights ago, just before bedtime, Sophie was hurriedly trying to eat a bedtime snack - a little something to get her through the night. Bella wasn't participating like she normally does so I looked around to see what she was doing. I saw her sitting there, in the dark, on the fireplace hearth. When I called she wouldn't come (she never does), so I went over to her. There, about 8 inches away, was an Oreo cookie. It was like she was purposely drawing my attention so I would find that "stray cookie".
Now, we give the dogs tiny snacks of what we eat, every day, and they are also interested in the rare chocolate snacks we have but we NEVER share those - supposedly, chocolate can be really bad for dogs.
So, has Bella learned that chocolate is bad? Was she showing me that cookie so I would find it before Sophie did, knowing that Sophie wouldn't care if it was chocolate - she would have gulped that thing down in about 2 bites?!? Or, maybe she was hoping I would come see the cookie, change my mind about chocolate, and give it to her.
Dogs may be smart but I don't think they think at quite that level of logic, although, I think most dog owners believe that their dogs understand a lot more than they're given credit for. Unfortunately, until dogs talk, we will never know for sure.
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