I've alluded in several previous posts to the possibility of dog-dementia or senility as possible explanations for some Skippy's more bizarre behaviours. She's approaching 12 years very soon, though we don't actually know her day of birth-we'll say it's in April, maybe March. But this so-called senility has been around for a few years.
Just recently, however, it's taken a new turn; not anything dangerous or concerning to her health, but just unexpectedly odd. As you may know, whenever we let Skippy inside she barrels down the length of the living room (see Tag, You're It!). Just last week she stopped just before our bookshelf, turned and stared at the blank wall beside it.
She waited for a moment, as if assessing the quality of some piece of invisible art that hung there, two feet from the floor, before turning her head to face me. I was confused as she returned her gaze to the blank wall in front of her, then back to me for a moment, as if she was expecting me to do something.
Then it occurred to me that this dog must be waiting for me to open the door to the bedroom, which was already open but on the other side of the bookshelf. Skippy had constructed, in her mind, a new bedroom door which only she could see and now wanted to go through.
I wish this were a singular occurrence, but there have been other mornings since then where she has stopped in the same place and waited for me to open the door that she sees on the blank wall before her. Even with Skippy's coloured past of ridiculous eccentricities, this one seemed to come from another planet.
What's up with my Jack Russell? This is what I figure has to be going on: she has super-cool dog powers that allow her to see secret passages that can only be revealed by special dog magic. She just hasn't figured out the right spell to open them yet.
Just recently, however, it's taken a new turn; not anything dangerous or concerning to her health, but just unexpectedly odd. As you may know, whenever we let Skippy inside she barrels down the length of the living room (see Tag, You're It!). Just last week she stopped just before our bookshelf, turned and stared at the blank wall beside it.
She waited for a moment, as if assessing the quality of some piece of invisible art that hung there, two feet from the floor, before turning her head to face me. I was confused as she returned her gaze to the blank wall in front of her, then back to me for a moment, as if she was expecting me to do something.
Then it occurred to me that this dog must be waiting for me to open the door to the bedroom, which was already open but on the other side of the bookshelf. Skippy had constructed, in her mind, a new bedroom door which only she could see and now wanted to go through.
I wish this were a singular occurrence, but there have been other mornings since then where she has stopped in the same place and waited for me to open the door that she sees on the blank wall before her. Even with Skippy's coloured past of ridiculous eccentricities, this one seemed to come from another planet.
What's up with my Jack Russell? This is what I figure has to be going on: she has super-cool dog powers that allow her to see secret passages that can only be revealed by special dog magic. She just hasn't figured out the right spell to open them yet.
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| My crude rendition of the moment. |
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