Articles
Who’s the Smartest of Them All?
Some Reflections on Dogs, Humans, and Being Smart. First there was Rico. In 2004, researchers reported that a border collie had learned the names of over 200 objects. What’s more, Rico could recognize a new word and retrieve a new object from among a group of familiar objects, inferring the name of the new object…
A Few Words About Numbers
Sometimes, I just want to know. How many pets are there in the United States? How many people have a pet? How many dogs are there? How many cats? According to one source, in 2017-2018, 68% of American households kept at least one pet of some kind (from guppies to budgies to palominos), including 94.2…
Your Brain on Babies
Look at that face! The instant we catch sight of a photograph like this, much less an actual baby, our brains get to work. We might smile a little, even if we don’t mean to. Of course, our brains respond to any face—young or old, known or unknown—but we respond to babies in a…
Take a Walk. Take the Dog.
There are the days when storms are predicted. On this particular June day, the rain had just started when I headed out, but I figured I could sneak in a walk before the real storm rolled in. Wrong. Within a couple of minutes, light rain turned into a torrent. Water swirled around my ankles. Bear,…
Good News for Shelter Animals
In 2013, when we were ready to adopt a dog, we headed for the local humane society. Our previous two dogs had come from there, but the kennels were practically empty. We tried a couple more times, but there was only a handful of dogs, and none was the right fit. Life intervened, the way…
Our Sydney: Born a Dog, Lived Like a Gentleman, Died Beloved
Bee, A Loving Companion, 1874-1889. My Freddie, 1901-1918, A Noble Cat. Lady Gove, Died March 23, 1940, Sweetheart. Twinkie, 1948-1968. Beside Twinkie’s name sits a skinny outlined cat, its tail folded neatly around its feet. I am wandering around the old section of Pine Ridge Pet Cemetery in Dedham, Massachusetts, on a cool, drizzly morning in…
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