The Social Lives of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Author:Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media

Yet Sundog’s sense of group was the most remarkable. Of course, he didn’t bark at me and Steve, but with certain very interesting exceptions he barked at everyone else. The exceptions were my mother, our son, our daughter, their spouses, and our grandchildren. Unlike Pearl, however, Sundog had never lived with any of these people, and, until my mother came to live with us, he saw them only once a year and only for a few days at Christmas. He might bark when he heard their cars in the driveway, but the moment the car doors opened and he saw who was inside, he would push past anyone standing in his way to greet these people gently and warmly, his chin high and his ears low.

Equally surprising, perhaps, was his soft manner when offering his greeting. This was quite unlike the wild feelings he displayed when he saw me or my husband after a long absence. Thus he saw a sameness between us and our immediate kindred, but he also saw a difference, as his different greetings showed.

I can only explain certain parts of this miracle. That Sundog remembered these people is understandable, since many animals are known to have excellent memories, a fact that has been demonstrated scientifically again and again. As for our own animals, I’d say that they remember people well if the relationship was important. We acquired one of our cats from a family that had too many cats, mainly because the woman of the family didn’t believe in having cats neutered. During a time of personal stress, the woman decided to get rid of all her cats, and bundling them into boxes, she took them to the humane society, where she put them up for adoption. In fact, since many more cats are offered for adoption than are taken, these cats were probably euthanized.

One of the cats, a cat whom the woman had always disliked, realized that something dreadful was happening to the other cats and escaped the purge by hiding in the basement. She eluded the woman from that time on by hiding in closets and under furniture. Learning of this, I offered to adopt the cat, and her owner gave her to me. The cat lived happily with me for many years. One day, however, the woman in question came for a visit. She entered through a door which was right beside the kitchen counter, where the cat happened to be sitting, watching me prepare her food. The cat looked up to see who came in. There stood her former owner. The cat hadn’t seen the woman since the time of the purge, but she certainly remembered, and the sight gave her a terrible shock. Her hair rose, she crouched, flattened her ears, and spat like a little thunderclap. Then she flew off the counter and sped away, not to reappear until the woman was gone.

So an excellent memory might explain how Sundog recognized our children. It does not, however, explain how he knew that I, my mother, my husband and our children and grandchildren were somehow a group.

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