So we all know that when she asks him if he wants to go for a run with her, he's going to demur. I had my iPhone ready to catch that. Watch what happens in this video.
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First, he enlists my help. Please don't let her do this, Mether. You know I can't leave you. Something might happen to you. Sorry, Bacon. I'm making a video of you, can't help you now.
Then, when carried outside and called to join Phoebe and Liam, he pretends he's seen something around on the other side of the house. Pretending is a fairly sophisticated means of deception, but it's used by all kinds of animals, from great apes to birds. Jays and magpies will pretend to bury something edible when they know they're being watched, then "palm" the item and quietly hide it elsewhere. Piping plovers and kildeer, among others, do an amazing "false brooding" behavior that's fooled me many times--settling down onto empty sand just as if they had eggs or chicks beneath them. You go to investigate, and the bird runs off, leaving an empty depression, no eggs, no chicks.
So Chet dashes off around the corner as if there's a deer to be chased. He comes back, knowing the ruse didn't work, but decides to try it again in another direction, pretending to study something out in the meadow. Oh look. A deer or something. Will ya look at that?
Finally Phoebe tells him that they'll go look for Mether, the trick she uses when I'm traveling. This is a suggestion he clearly finds flat-out ridiculous, and he turns on his heels and trots decisively right back to me. His brisk pace, laid-back ears and head angle say it all. Can you believe this girl? You're right HERE. Stick a fork in me, I'm done.
We're all chuckling at this point, Chet too, as he settles down to sit on the porch and watch them leave without him.
He ain't sorry. He's already done his run today. Long as Mether's with him his world is right. Is it any wonder we love our dogs so? You can fail completely at any number of human endeavors, but still be your dog's whole world. Lord, help me be the person my dog thinks I am.
15 comments:
Sitting here laughing and snorting with you, now feeling a little sorry that I laughed at Chet Baker... but he's just too darn cute! Thanks for starting my day off on a high note!
so sweet!
xoxo
9896So the Amish said, "Here, and no further." And what have they missed in the bargain? Good food served up from a warm kitchen? Fresh baked bread? Meaningful work with helping neighbors? Transportation you spend half your life paying for, and fuel that costs you nearly the other half? Shiny gadgets that, when they break, you can't fix? Lasting friendships?
Once, a long time ago, I was watching Dan Rather do a report that compared Amish farming with modern farming, and in comparison modern farming was looking like a generally bad idea in comparison. I have no clue whether it might have been staged, but Rather, just as he finished the report, looked off the side and said, "We won't have to go back to that, will we?"
What impresses me most is how you hold the camera so still while you are laughing so hard!
Julie
Please don't use the word 'retarded' in the way you did on this video.
Sorry to offend you, joyceetta. Certainly never my intent to offend anyone, but with this many readers, posting original content for nine years sometimes has unintended consequences. This blog is a slice of life, and the videos even moreso. If I knew how to edit the sound tracks I would--there are lots of videos I make I can't post because I get too excited and say all kinds of things. Would it help you to know I made a donation to the Special Olympics this morning?
Julie
Honestly, I know you well enough from your writing to know that you are a kind hearted person who would never intentionally hurt anyone.
My 'beef' is the way I hear that word used so casually by so many people who don't realize how hurtful it can be even though that is not the intent.
When I hear the word used that way, I just have to call the speaker's (writer's) attention to it. My hope is that in the future, the person may be just a bit more aware of the power of their words.
I'm sorry if I offended you. And, thanks for the donation.
Oh Julie, he is so dang precious! The snorting just kills me. He's a mama's boy, no doubt about that. Thanks for sharing your lives so freely with us all. It's so refreshing. I wish I could be as open as you are here.
Huggin' it out with joyceetta. Thanks for the clarification. I will try to be more careful. Since we're talking, I'd say that I probably am a bit too quick to get my feelings hurt in life, but particularly so in this realm. I think it's because I'm putting out a product I'm proud of, that takes a great deal of time and work to produce. I'm playing real good for free, for consumption by anyone who happens upon it, and have been for almost nine years. People tell me they learn a lot here, are moved by what I've written, that they enjoy the images. So when I get a critical comment out of the blue that doesn't in some way acknowledge that effort and well-meaning intent to entertain and enlighten, my first reaction tends to be negative. I get a blaaaaa feeling in the pit of my stomach. I feel as though everything good that I've tried to do is swept off the table, and a stray offensive word is allowed to take center stage and dance around. And I object to that imbalance. I remind people that this is a personal journal I'm sharing. Not a network news show, not a magazine, not a press release. I'm not a journalist, not a scientist, not a politician. Just a human who's trying to figure out what makes the natural world go around. But whether I like it or not I am a kind of public figure. Being casual is the nature of the blogging medium, and unintentionally hurting people's feelings is sometimes an artifact of it. I appreciate the followup and am going to try to watch my excitable mouth better going forward.
Doesn't a dog's love just break your heart, knowing you'll have to say good-bye waaaay too soon? I know; I'm morose; it comes from saying good-bye to too many dear four-legged friends. Your Chet is so dear (and your blog is so appreciated!).
Sorry, Julie, you didn't deserve that swipe. I love hearing about the life you live and it often makes my day. We all slip up occasionally but as caring adults we should save the chastisement for those who are bitter and mean-spirited, that's not you. A stray offensive word will never sweep everything you mean to all of us off the table!
Julie, you just kill me over and over with joy and laughter. And I learn a lot, too. I was trying to figure out my Boston's behavior today. When I come home from being out for a while, he doesn't run and shower me with kisses (like all my other dogs have done). No, he goes and gets his bone and excitedly chews on it. I'll scoop him up in my arms and he wants to wiggle out. Gosh I love him. I really admire your bravery of putting yourself and your life & loved ones out there for us all to see. I do think joyceetta was crass not to private message you -- especially when she says she knows you would never intentionally hurt someone (like she intentionally hurt you). I think you're the tops. Big cyber hug to you and Chet.
This was a great blog. I have always wondered about that pretending and intentional distraction stuff with dogs and funny that it happens with birds too. The video made me chuckle and I think there are many people who would agree with the way Chet feels about you. Many of us out here in Facebook land and a couple of the costars in this delightful clip!
No one EVER offends anyone. People CHOOSE to be offended. You have brought so much joy to us in your blog, and shared your knowledge and your warmth. Please don't start censoring yourself or curbing your enthusiasm. It is your enthusiasm for the things and creatures that so many people take for granted that keeps me checking every morning to see if you've posted. And when there IS a new post, it invariably cheers me and gets my day started on a positive note. Thank you !
Love this to the moon and back, Julie! It's all about the bond. I laughed and wheezed with you.
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