If you have been following my blog for very long you have undoubtedly noticed my fondness for my pooch, Brandy. Her full name, Brandywine, tickles me because my husband named her after the heirloom tomato. : ) Eight years ago, when she was approximately 6 months old and a stray, she showed up at our door step and we fell in love with her. I have been grateful for her protection and companionship these past two years - everyday her sweetness and intelligence shines. Before knowing Brandy, I didn’t realize it was possible to communicate with a dog (or any animal), but somehow over the past eight years we have learned to do just that.
When she needs something she gives me a “look” or nudges me and I ask her a list of questions to try and figure out what she needs. Does Brandy need to go for a walk? Does Brandy need water? Food? Play? Love? If her answer is no, she turns her head to the side; if her answer is yes, she touches her nose to mine. I was shocked the first time she did this! I could hardly believe it, but I kept putting her to the test and she always answered “yes” or “no” according to her needs. It is a mystery how she figured out how to communicate “yes” and “no” to me. Her understanding of our language continues to astound me. Though, as cool as it is to be able to communicate with her, it sometimes presents a few problems… (To be continued).
Have you ever known a remarkable animal? I would love to hear about them.
NOTE: Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and well wishes! Dad’s surgery is scheduled for the 30th of November. His 74th birthday and my parent’s 48th wedding anniversary are next week so we have lots of celebrating to do! : )
5 comments:
Brandy tops the list of any remarkable dog I have ever known. Her ability to communicate is beyond remarkable. Hope you will tell some of the stories that prove just how special she is. It would be impossible to believe until you hear story after story of her abilities. She is amazing. Thank you for telling.
Brandy sounds like a special dog. I wish i had a story to share here, but our dog is bad (not the one that guards the sheep.. but the one in the house) He understands us, but what that boils down to, is he does everything that we tell him not to do when we're not looking! He sneaks around all the time. If he were to use his mischeviousness for 'the good' i'd probably have a great story to tell!
I hope that your family has a great week of celebration, and best wishes to your Dad for a speedy recovery here in a few weeks!
Hello Patti! Thank you – I appreciate the validation from someone who knows Brandy. She is a sweetheart and I am lucky she picked me to befriend.
Hello Tonya! Your sheep dog is beautiful! I think dogs really want and try to please us but can’t seem to help themselves from doing sneaky things when we aren’t watching. Your inside pooch sounds adorably sly. : )
Hi Jewels, you have me missing having a dog. I think dogs, in fact all animals, know much more than folks give them credit for and if their communication is encouraged it only increases. Gary and I got a dog when we were first married and named her Blue (she was a Queensland Heeler) and we used to take her to the river to swim with us. Later when we would be driving places every time we would drive over a bridge with a river below we would say "river" and she would always walk over to the window and look down at the water. Here's a post I did about her so you can see what she looked like, she died when we lived in Arkansas and we buried her by the barn
http://bluestarrgallery.blogspot.com/2009/03/blue.html
Looking forward to hearing more about Brandy, I can see she is a special dog.
Hello Linda! I had wondered why you named your blog Blue Starr Gallery. Blue must have been a very lovely and smart dog! Thank you for sharing her story and pictures. Have you and Gary not had a dog since Blue? The blue woven crosses pictured on that post are beautiful!
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