I am amazed every single day by dogs.
I am not referring to police dogs, service dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, or therapy dogs. Those dogs, of course, I am in awe of.
I’m talking about the family dog.
The terms “ordinary” or “typical” or “average” don’t apply here, because everyone’s dog is unique, and has his or her own special gifts and talents.
Most of the time, we hire them – and because dogs are working animals (yes, even your 7 pound Chiweenie), that’s an appropriate characterization – to be our Loving Companions.
And sometimes, the job description for Loving Companion includes “Other Duties as Assigned.”
Their owners didn’t train them for these specific tasks, but somehow – intuition? a sixth sense? causes these dogs to go above and beyond our expectations.
A client told me about her Poodle Jem that suddenly insisted on curling up next to the left side of her body, and refusing to budge. A trip to the doctor, and the owner was told she had breast cancer – you guessed it – on her left side.
German Shepherd MacKenzie sits up abruptly just before her owner, who has epilepsy, has a seizure.
Westie Bianca once ran, barking frantically, back and forth at the patio doors, until someone noticed that his owner’s elderly mother had fallen in the backyard and was unable to stand up.
In a previous post, I mentioned a client who’s male Pitbull mix Toby began humping her female Labrador mix Madeleine. Since this had never happened before, and since both dogs have been neutered for years, the dogs’ owner took them both to the vet, where Madeleine was discovered to have a urinary tract infection.
Were these dogs trained to accomplish these feats?
No.
There ARE dogs that are trained to detect the imminence of seizures, diabetic distress, and other medical crises. For more information about those highly skilled dogs, visit the websites of The Delta Society, Dogs4Diabetics, and the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners.
And not every dog has the capability of performing random miracles so please don’t hold your dog to an impossible standard or be disappointed if he hasn’t turned kibble into steak recently.
We share our lives with dogs for so many reasons – for their exceptional love and close companionship, to keep watch over our homes and families, to be our walking/hiking/kayaking buddies, to give us purpose and endless joy. Maybe its this exceptional bond that enables our canine partners to know, even when we don’t, when help is needed.
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