by Shelley Fowler
I’ve never doubted his intelligence! Nor his propensity for being unruly when a man walks in the house. At which time he acts like any young boy and wants only to wrestle. But, laying aside those stories for now, I want to concentrate on the smartness of one of my kids…..Shiloh, The Wonder Dog!
The first time he heard the word ‘ball’ he went and found one, then laid it at my feet. With the first utterance of the word ‘fly’, he ran in the bedroom, jumped on the bed, sprang into the air, caught the ceiling fan’s metal chain in his teeth, and set the blades a-whirring. I didn’t have to explain to him that the creature with the funky tail was a ‘squirrel’ – the first time I said its name, he darted to the closest window and looked hither and yon about the yard. As for ‘bird‘, the first time I mentioned that word he instantly looked up into the heavens! With ‘walk’, he’s ready to go to the Munson. And say ‘bug’ and he’s checking out the floor with his nose.
Thus, I shouldn’t have been awe-struck the other day when Shiloh demonstrated anew his ability to grasp the meaning of words with no training or prompting.
I had been to the grocery store and purchased some Beggin’ Strips, a rare treat for Shiloh and his siblings, Sweet Pea and Kiote’. I handed each of them a strip, which they devoured in short order. I then opened the back door and all but Shiloh ran out to play in the sunshine. He wasn’t going to be suckered into believing the package didn’t contain more ‘bacon’. He stood his ground, speaking (with his eyes) that he’d surely appreciate a little more of the tasty treat.
So I took another strip from the package, broke off a piece, and without expecting him to understand what I was about to say since I’d never asked it of him before, said, “Sit!” He immediately sat on his haunches!
I said, “Wow, that was cool!” as I rewarded him with a bite. Hmmm….
Thinking about how long it had taken my nephew to teach their family dog, Eddie, how to ‘speak’, I figured it would be impossible on the first try with Shiloh, but what the heck!
And so I said, “Speak!” Still sitting on his haunches, looking me straight in the eyes, and with nary a shred of hesitation, Shiloh’s voice rang out, “Woof!” I didn’t reply, but just grinned and shook my head in wonder as I handed him another bite of ‘bacon’.
Shiloh was two for two!
Feeling like a proud parent whose child was winning the spelling bee, I decided to go one more round with words – for the championship and the last of the beggin‘ strip.
Taking a deep breath, I said, “Okay, Shiloh! Jump!” And wouldn’t you know it! In one fluid motion he went from sitting on his haunches to leaping in the air!
I cheered. I ruffled his furry, black ears. I hugged his canine neck. He allowed my emotional display for merely a moment, then sat down and simply said, “Bark”. A reminder that I still held his trophy – the last tasty bite of bacon. And for just a second, as he took the morsel from my hand, he seemed to also be adding, “What did you expect? After all, I’m Shiloh, The Wonder Dog!”
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I found Shiloh – or rather, he found me – about five years ago. His lineage is quite mixed, since he has long, shiny black hair, a speckled belly and yet exhibit’s the tan markings of a German Shepherd. He truly is filled with ‘wonders’ – he climbs trees, scales tall fences, eats dried leaves on a daily basis, has the ability to get along with all dogs to whom he’s introduced, and wants nothing more than to be by my side, or in the pickup, his head stuck out the passenger window.
And at this very minute, he’s sitting beside my chair with his head on my lap, looking at me with his soulful brown eyes. Eyes that are telling me I’ve talked about him long enough…for now!
