How good a dog was Jester? During our hike of the Superior Hiking Trail in 2000, when Jester was six, my two human hiking companions and I had stopped for a little break. Jester roamed off the trail about fifty feet away, snooping about. I happened to glance over at him just as he picked up an object he had found in the tall grass. He had it fully in his mouth and was about to wolf it down when, not knowing what it was, I prudently shouted for him to "drop it", which he did instantly, without so much as making a mark on it. I went over and picked it up. It was as savory a treat as I'd ever seen. My companions were familiar with it, explaining to me that it was a snack bar often made by hikers - a blend of oats, nuts, honey, chocolate, butter - utterly dense and mouth wateringly delicious. Jester, though very hungry, had instantly respected my wishes from fifty feet away. My human companions and I then stood together and discussed the large snack bar in detail, each of us also breaking off a corner of it and eating it. Suddenly, I remembered Jester. I looked down. He was sitting just a foot from us, eyes glued to the snack bar, mouth wide open, drool pouring out. And he was absolutely politely silent, even as the snack bar was disappearing down our throats. For goodness sakes. I gave him the rest of the bar, which he had found without any help from us, and of which there was still about 3/4 remaining. |