During my September visit to Knoxville, Lara (my daughter-in-law), Ronnie (my son-in-law) and I were having a discussion on the scope of canine intelligence. Lara, owned by Lucy the Bishon, loves dogs and credits them with an innate ability to make decisions. Ronnie, owner of Louie the mixed breed, doubts that dogs deliberate but instead can read visual or subtle clues from their human friends and respond accordingly.
 
I am squarely with Ronnie in the they're-not-THAT-smart camp. These two opposing groups consist of people from all walks of life, irrespective of gender, age, race, religion, sexual preference or whether they watch "Jon & Kate Plus Eight".

Lara told of Lucy's concern and her caring gestures when Lara has a migraine. Lucy doesn't leave Lara's side on a good day, so when Lara is laid horizontal in a darkened room with the covers up to her ears, Lucy is sure to be there. Lara insisted that Lucy knows she has a migraine and will lay as close as possible to her head providing as much warmth and comfort a three-pound dog can. Ronnie and I scoffed, insisting that Lucy was only responding to visual clues and was not thinking through the situation and making corresponding choices.

Last night Bob and I were watching Evening Magazine's fluff piece about "Quirky Pets". Although I'm not ready to change parties, Henry the pug's ability to select a specific toy from his collection is hard to dismiss.

Please forgive the intrusion if you, like me, would rather people didn't send you cute animal videos. Henry's part is about three minutes into the tape.

http://www.king5.com/video/eveningmagazine-index.html?nvid=403522