As a veterinarian, the saying “doctors makes the worst patients” holds true for me in an unusual way. When I’m treating my clients’ Pets, I caution against anthropomorphizing (i.e. imposing human qualities onto Pets) Pets, but I find this to be extremely challenging when it comes to my own Pets, especially when I look at the behavior of my female Shiba Inu, Ari.
We’ve had Ari since she was a puppy and she never fails to amuse me, even on my worst day. When she was small, we bought her a stuffed toy that looked and sounded like a cow. It was, of course, aptly named “Cow.” Now here is where the trouble began, and here is where you will have to forget all the sage advice I might give about not reading too much into Pet behavior. And here is where I embark on the guilty sin of looking at my little dog as if she were human. Those bothered by this should probably not read on.
Anyway, Ari appeared to fall in love with Cow, making the stuffed animal a constant companion. She would pick Cow up and put her on the couch, just so she could snuggle with her. We have a wonderful picture of them cuddled on the couch. It is the kind of picture that looks somewhat posed, where Cow could have been used as a prop we added to get a better shot. However, it is not. Ari put Cow there, and Ari fell asleep snuggled up next to her pal. Cow was so well-loved and such a constant companion that she required a collar and tags, of course. We used Ari’s old puppy collar on her and had a tag made which says, “Cow–if found please return to Ari”. Our phone number is included. (Not behavior I encourage in any of my clients, mind you.) Eventually Cow started showing the wear of her companionship and developed some holes, making it possible for Ari to get at her stuffing. This is where the vet in me took over and took Cow away. The last thing I wanted was to have Ari go to surgery from a foreign body caused by ingesting Cow!
We put Cow away and kept her, for our sake, as a reminder of our “baby’s” younger days. Two years went by and we happened to come across another Cow and instantly decided to see how Ari would respond. I admit there was some professional curiosity involved here, not just a mom’s desire to see if the baby still remembered her friend. After all, everything we are taught in vet school indicated that dog’s have very bad memories and can’t really tell the difference between one being away from home for fifteen minutes or several hours. Surely Cow II would be just another toy, destroyed in days, shattering not just her plushness but our illusions as well.
Cow II came home and as soon as Ari saw her, the magic was renewed. She ran up to receive Cow II as if she had never left and proceeded to groom her, reconnecting with her long lost love. The magic continued that night as Ari refused to get in her crate until Cow II was in there with her. In the mornings I could swear that Ari runs out of her crate, makes sure the coast is clear, and then runs back to get Cow II up for another day. I should add that Cow was the only toy in the house that our other dog, Tucker, did not destroy. He joined us after Ari claimed Cow II and she was very clear to establish that Cow was strictly off limits to the dog whose whole purpose in life appears to be eviscerating stuffed toys. Well, it turns out that it wasn’t just Ari who “remembered” Cow, Tucker has never once tried to take Cow II and holds the same respect for the reincarnation as the original.
It certainly makes one think of all the things we still don’t understand about Pet behavior and intellect, as well as making me feel just a little guilty every time I caution a client against anthropomorphizing their Pet!
