Furry Children with Paws

I haven't written about my babies in a while.

Like human children, they have good days and bad.

Unlike human children, they don't talk back.

Yesterday, both needed to go to the vet for bordetella vaccinations. That's for kennel cough. The place is large and offers multiple services. It was hopping but we found a little out-of-the-way spot so Shiner wouldn't think everyone was waiting to play with him.

When it was our turn, the vet tech took each one back separately, since all they needed was to be weighed and the vaccine squirted up their noses.

She took Wrangler first, and returned with him about three minutes later. He was so proud - like See what a good boy I was!

Then she took Shiner back. A different tech brought him out.

"Did you know he can open doors?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"You didn't teach him?"

"No."

"These are smart dogs." She nodded and smiled. "The doors have lever handles. We finished and set him on the floor. He went to the door, opened it, and started down the hall."

Now, Wrangler is a border collie. He's a whiz-kid. But his smarts are in a different area. He's extremely intuitive. Shiner is a blue heeler, also known as an Australian cattle dog. His smarts are more in the practical and physical areas. Human-wise, one is an academic and one is an engineer.

On the doggie scale of overall intelligence by breed, border collies are #1. Blue heelers are #10. Many days, both are smarter than I am.

I'm so thankful we don't have lever door handles at home.