My dog, “Gibbo”, an 8 year old black and white Kelpie cross Labrador managed to totally surprise me in the last few days. I have been busy digging in the garden to create room for some old bricks that I want to move and pave under the old woodshed roof. This will be the floor of my new potting area, which was previously under the car port. Seeing that all the posts are rotten, I am expecting it to fall down sooner or later, so it is best to prepare for that day and move things away. The roof of the new potting area is not very high and I just fitted under it, standing up straight, leaving only about 3 cm’s to spare, so in order to put the bricks down, I had to lower the surface. It is a pretty massive job, seeing the clay is very dry and of course rock hard, so it feels like I am carving rather than digging!

Towards the end of the afternoon, Gibbo always gets a little restless in anticipation of our evening walk and indicated that he wanted me to stop digging and play with him instead. Unfortunately he does this by barking loudly, so I jokingly said to him to come and help me dig to shut him up. To my amazement he started digging! Not quite in the spot where I needed it most, but in one of the softer corners. That showed to me that he’s not silly! The last time I asked him to help me dig anything, was at least 7 years ago, when I had to dig some holes for the tree ferns I was relocating in my back yard. So he showed an incredible memory as well!

Next, my husband came home from a short visit. He yelled out to me over the gate, because he did not take his keys and needed me to open up the front door for him. I had locked it, because I could not hear if anyone would come into the house from the back of the yard. I went to open the door and as usual Gibbo followed me there to welcome my husband. He always greets you at the front door by picking up his favourite tennis ball, to show he is ready to play with you and excited you are home again, so he dropped the one he was playing with in the backyard and picked up a tennis ball. I went back to what I was doing and shortly after, Gibbo comes out again to check what I am up to. He decided he wanted to play some more and started his annoying barking routine again. This time I said to him to go get his ball. He looked around puzzled as to where it could be. Because he gets so excited about what is happening he does not seem to realize where he drops it, so I told him where he left it. I said: “You left it at the front door where we go out to do walkies”. I pictured it in my mind as I said it. I went on with what I was doing and he disappeared into the house, through his doggy door. A moment later, he was back with his beloved back yard ball! I was totally amazed at his comprehension and praised him for his cleverness and started to play with him and his ball.

This event proved to me that pets understand a lot more than we generally give them credit for! If you look into their eyes, you can see their soul and how they feel. If you respect them as an entity with feelings, just in a different body, they know this and you will be rewarded by their love and respect. You will gain a special bond that is different from any human interaction. I feel very blessed to feel so loved by Gibbo and have this understanding and communication with him. I am glad he came into my life, not only to learn this important lesson. What are your experiences with this? Please share in the comments.