My Black Lab (10 years gone now) had quite a vocab. I’d often try to fake him out
(he often anticipated what I was going to say) like, “Do you want to go for a…
Heffalump?” Of course he expected me to say “ride” and would look at me with a
puzzled expression on his face until I finally told him what we were doing (at which
point he’d bark his head off with excitement). I’d say (conservative guess) that he
knew 50 words…
My mom’s dog, a Shih Tzu, is similarly gifted. She does great with the old folks at my
grandmother’s nursing home, and Mom’s been wondering if she should turn her into
a therapy dog (show up and brighten the day of a shut-in or sick kid or something).
Well the dog (Lucee Loo, not named after the actress) was sitting quietly on the
floor resting when Mom decided to announce that, “Ya know, maybe we should
make a therapy dog out of you.” I wasn’t there, but Mom said Lucee literally
rocketed off the floor, into her arms, barking like mad and licking her face. You
skeptic types can pooh-pooh that if you like, and I won’t argue with ya. I do know
Lucee’s vocabulary is pretty extensive too (tho at only 2 years old she hasn’t
learned as much as my Lab did).
