puppy story

My favorite story from hanging out with Murphy and Maggie:

The Chief came over to the house with me. I'd taken the pups out to frolick and such in the backyard. Then, Maggie, the Chief and I were relaxing on the porch. The Chief and I read. The Chief, who apparently is a latent dog-whisperer, tells me, "I think she wants to get up on the sofa next to you."

I lug Maggie up onto the sofa. She adjusts herself to sit perpendicular to me with her head resting on my leg. I, who am not a dog whisperer latent or otherwise, know to pet her. I rub her back as I read my book. We sit contentedly.

Then, the Chief interrupts my reading, "It's irritating when you pet me in the same place repeatedly."

It takes me a second to register that my mom is telling me how to pet the dog from the dog's point of view. That perspective would be "first dog singular". She has stopped reading her book and started analyzing and critiquing my petting skills. But, to spice things up she spoke from the dog's view. This episode gave me an insight into my eccentricities: they're natural.

But, the Chief does not stop there, oh no. She says, "Pet me between my eyes and down my snout." (Yes, she used the word, "snout".) Then, when I follow her instructions, she says, "Very nice."

Finally after several rounds of being told how to properly pet this dog, I ask Mom, "Why are you telling me how to pet Maggie?"

"Because I can see her facial expressions, and they register what she likes," she answers.

Awesome.