b'editor unleashed.W HY CANT IBE more like the Photograph by Laura Allen Studios.person I think my dog believes Iam? Thats a rhetorical question,but one Im pretty sure, you, fel-low dog lover, have asked yourselfatleastonce. Wegoaboutourdaily routines, almost on autopi-lot. Leave it to a dog to bring meback into the present; to remindmeoftheimportanceofmysignificantotherinlife,loveand career.Anna, Zoe, Chloe, Doogie and Rita. One day, recently, during thecrazypaceofmagazineproductionand agreedtotakehimandsubsequently,adeadlines, Steve returned from an appoint- wonderful couple, Louise and her now latement. Hi, I said. Hi, he said back. husband, Ken, fostered the little guy. LouiseThen he walked into his office, and trainedDoogietocometoherbythisiswhatIheard,inanaffectionate, whistlingthefirstfournotesofsweet tone of voice: Hey baby, how are Beethovens Fifth Symphony. you, huh? You doing okay? Thats my girl. Doogie McDoogal has been the per-Hewas,ofcourse,speakingtooneof fect gentleman since we adopted him sixthe dogs. years ago. The humans in his life, however,Thats when I finally looked up from eventually became a little lax in maintain-my computer and laughed.sort of. I men- ing his good manners. Over time, for sometioned my observation to him later that reason,westoppedwhistlingthemostday;howhebarelyacknowledgedmy famous symphonic phrase ever written andgreeting,butwasalloverthedog.His reverted back to that old standby, Doogie,thoughtful response was, Well, there she come! Of course, he stopped coming whenwas, waiting for me in my office, smiling called; even stopped looking up. Ill comeand wagging her tail. She was really happy when I want to; I must finish patrolling theto see me. I recall, you didnt even look up yard for squirrels and other vermin first.at me when I walked through the door. It This attitude only exasperated his humanswasnt a slight against you at all. But it was more. DOOGIE COME! Nothing.a natural response when I saw the dog.Then, I heard those four notes on theThat was a good lesson for both of us, radio.TalkaboutaPavlovianresponseand a reminder of how complacent we can (mine). Maybe I could reprogram Doogie,become with a sincere show of our feel- I thought.ingsforeachother.Dogsdontmissa Itturnsout,thehumanswerethething, or an opportunity to give it their all. onlyoneswhoneededtoberepro-They help us come out of our shells to grammed. AsDoogiewaspatrollingthebecome better humans. It is an ongoing perimeter of his yard, paying no attentionprocess, and one they never seem to tire of. to me at all, I quietly whistled the fourI believe dogs have the ability to tune notes. His head perked up in my directionout negativity, especially those dogs who and after just a very brief moment, he ranlive with us. Doogie, the Scottish Terrier straight for me, sitting down at my feet. IweadoptedfromDunedinDogRescue gave him a treat and lots of praise. The cool(DDR), is an excellent example. He had thingaboutthisbreakthroughisthatbeen owner-surrendered to a veterinarian Rita, our MinPin, is responding to it asinNorthFlorida,witharequesttobe well. Its fun for everyone. Positive rein-euthanized. His crime: the young couple forcement.what a concept. We all benefitwho had bought him a year before, had from it.just had a baby. They were concerned the So,thankyou,Doogie,foranotherdog was too aggressive for them.valuable lesson, and for your patience. YouThankfully, the veterinarian refused to knew wed eventually come around, didnteuthanizethisotherwisehealthydog. you? A triumph over adversityactuallySeveral weeks in a kennel, however, with the theme of Beethovens Fifth. Thank youlittlesocialization,ledtotheScottie also, for believing that I could be the per-becominganxiousanddepressed.DDR son you think I am. U6THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'