Faith talks to me. She does. This is probably not surprising to any of you that have ever worked or lived with her. She used to just talk to herself, as you may recall. Now, she gets to direct her words toward me. To be truthful, I love it. It's great to try and figure out what she means exactly.
Some things I have down pat. My ears perk up and I start to twirl or patter around her feet when she says, "Walk," "Hungry?," "Treat," and "Let's brush your teeth!" In fact, she has to be a little careful, because sometimes when she's on the phone and says these words to someone else as a part of her normal conversation, like, "I think I'm going to enjoy a treat later," I come running in, panting, "Treat? Treat! Did you say treat? Is it time for me to do my tricks and get some bison jerky?!" I'm pretty disappointed when I realize she wasn't talking to me at all.
Other things she says I am not quite sure about, so I look at her, tilting my head and raising my eyebrows. If she repeats the word or phrase while looking at me, I know it's something she wants me to understand. This is the fun part, adding to my vocabulary.
Recently, Faith came through the door at the end of her day and told me she'd been listening to a story about a dog. What could this be? She showed me a little silver rectangle with some of those things she puts in her ears attached. Later, I saw her looking at this website: Merle: Lessons from a Free Thinking Dog. She says she is crying a little on the train and smiling a whole lot. She has begun to speak with me differently after starting this book. I hope she keeps it up. I feel like we're getting to a new place as dog and person, together!
Also, I like the sound of that title! Free. Thinking. Dog.
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