People say that we are like our pets. My dog, Bridger, has been exploring these woods with me since puppyhood. As a Vizsla, he is hard-wired for searching and finding. It’s amazing to watch him grid-search a field, nose to the ground, at a full run. We didn’t teach him this. It’s in his DNA.
Bridger seems to enjoy exploring these woods as much as I do. Over the years, he, too, has honed his observation skills. On more than half of our trips out, he will suddenly reappear, gleefully bounding out of the forest, prancing like a show horse, with some new toy in his mouth. We have a collection of things he’s brought home: a Kong, several Flippy Floppy frisbees (these were probably Bridger’s, to begin with), a Chuck-It ball, a variety of stuffed animals, a tug toy, a Kong Squeez ball (It squeaks. He’s manic about it), and a rubber snake.
Bridger was on a sunny trail winding through a prairie, not an unexpected place to find a basking snake. I rounded a bend and saw him vigorously shaking the snake in his mouth. The way it was moving, I thought it was real! I sharply called him away—to find, much to my relief, that it was a rubber snake.
I would love to watch the coyotes sneak off with these treasures from backyards under the cover of night. And then to witness them play and frolic with the excitement a new toy evokes. On a rare occasion, I’ve glimpsed this behavior in my own backyard – play bowing and hopping around with my dog. Coyotes are not so different from the canines that share our homes.
I wonder if it’s the smells on the toys that make them so easy for Bridger to find or if it’s the smell of the coyote’s activity – the pheromones of play – that draw him in. At any rate, it’s definitely a favorite hobby and a well-developed skill.
In this way, we explore the woods together, each excited about the new things we find. We read the stories of the forest with our own, unique sensory skills. In this simple pleasure, I am like my dog, and he is like me.
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