A COLLISION WITH A CONSCIOUS

Some dogs learn faster than other dogs. Some dogs learn for different reasons than other dogs. I’m smart. It’s easy for me to learn new tricks (or words). I outgrew ‘sit’ – ‘stay’ – ‘shake’ within weeks of becoming a foster dog to Jet. Pleasing Jet makes me want to learn more. Nokona, my little buddy, learns for one thing: food. I learn through language, Nokona by watching me. Then there’s Piper. Jet calls her a little willful three-year old. She only learns when she gets in trouble. Basically she does something I KNOW she KNOWS she shouldn’t do and gets punished (no treats and verbal scolding) when she gets caught. It’s like Piper thinks learning is for others and only applies to her if she feels like honoring a rule she’s learned. Piper always gets caught. (I think moms, even foster moms, have 360-degree sight.)

Humans don’t seem much different than dogs about learning. Some love learning, some struggle with it, others need to be especially motivated in order to learn. Then there are people like Michael Vick, the dirt bag (nicest word I can think of) that horribly abused my canine kind for dog fighting tournaments at one of his properties. I won’t tell you the details about what this despicable man has done. Suffice it to say (I’ve always wanted to use that phrase in a sentence) the man is like Piper, he thinks the rules don’t apply to him. Like Piper, he learns by doing something bad and getting caught. In prison, Vick had to think about the hours of tortuous treatment he forced on his dogs all for human pleasure and greed. He lost his good name, his job and his freedom (deservedly so) to learn.

Now, these poor dogs learned how to fight, to survive. Stringent punishment and mean treatment were their teachers. Some cool humans that rescued them, used love, tenderness and loyalty to help these poor dogs learn how to feel safe. If you don’t believe me, watch this inspiring video below of how some of Vick’s abused dogs have learned new lessons including how to love again.



So, here’s my lesson of the day… dog or human, you shouldn’t have to have a collision with your conscious to learn.

Okay, here’s the question of the day from Bessie who asked: I heard there’s a new dessert for dogs called PETA PIE. Where can I get some?

Dear Bessie:
P.E.T.A. pie is a special dessert served by one human to another (in the face). PETA, which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals often have followers that serve the pie to other humans that hurt animals.
You can view one of these recent incidents on the video below.



Truth is, I’d rather eat the pie than see it wasted on a human’s face. On the other hand, poop on the bad humans that hurt critters.


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