Suki's Fellow Canine Companions

Here’s where we get money, Suki! Suki now knows how to locate an ATM machine. I marked one the other day and then called it “bank”. The following day I approached the bank and told Suki, “Bank, bank.” She led me to the ATM machine – the same one out of three that I had used the previous day! Darn it if that dog doesn’t surprise me every time! The only trouble is that she often tries to get up along side me and bumps her head on the outcropping underneath the machines.

OOPS! Mistake! High obstacle! Suki did not see a barrier of red and white plastic tape that was stretched across some scaffolding on the sidewalk. She continued walking, passed under it, and led me into it. As bystanders looked on I stopped her, told her “Zehirut!”, turned her around, and approached the spot again. This time she led me around it. This was identical to the situation on the obstacle course at Beit Oved in which Suki needed practice to keep from running me into a plastic rod that was high enough for her to pass under her but not high enough to allow me to go under. We’ll have to work on that.

One of the most fascinating things that I have observed is the relationship between Suki and my other two dogs, Saoirse and Nuala. Nuala has remained more aloof since Suki arrived, and has always been an outdoor dog, but Saoirse, who is 13, elderly, and epileptic, remains in the house more. Suki often prances in front of her trying to get her to romp around, but needless to say, Saoirse would rather take it easy.

Today for the first time the two of them played together and engaged in a lively tug-of-war with a rope toy. Even Saoirse was feeling spry enough to run and chase it, and was not at all disgruntled by the fact that Suki can run much faster.

I have yet to understand Suki’s behavior two nights ago: suddenly I found her sleeping on my bed and on the sofa: where she has never gone before and where she is not allowed. I was very surprised at this. Saoirse was sleeping on the living room floor at the time. Several hours later, in the middle of the night Saoirse had an epileptic seizure.

Did Suki sense that something was not right with Saoirse who was in the aura of a seizure? Was she trying to get away from Saoirse by climbing up onto the furniture? Or was she just looking for a softer place to sleep? .Considering that dogs can be trained to sense upcoming epileptic seizures in humans and warn them, it is obvious that an intelligent dog such as Suki could sense that something was not right, though she doesn’t know what it is.