I'm sure that cat owners have this experience all the time, but there comes a moment when you own a Basenji that you leave them in the bedroom, snuggled up on your bed, and then you turn around in the living room, and there they are, sitting right behind you so that you almost trip over them. There is no sound of them moving from one room to another. There is no indication of any exertion. They are perfectly still. It's like they materialized out of thin air.
I have this experience all the time with Denny. One minute, he'll be sitting into the window and looking out over his domain (the alley behind our building), the next moment, he's behind me in the kitchen, sitting on the rug and staring expectantly at the stove.
Even more unsettling is when I see him curled up in his "doughnut" formation on one spot of the bed, looking like he's never going to move again, I turn to put something away in my dresser, and when I look back, he is still in a "doughnut" but on a different part of the bed. Maybe two or three seconds have passed, and there was no noise at all. My little Houdini.
Perhaps what is the eeriest part of it is the look that they give you when you turn around and see them. Like they know something you don't. And maybe they do. And maybe it has to do with the fact that they know you're going to give them a treat before you even think to do it yourself.
Ah, but that will the topic for next month: Basenji telepathy and their power of subliminal suggestion.
This reminds of one time I was standing outside talking to a neighbor while Deedle was inside staring at us (I know, how dare I go outside on my own without her!). My neighbor, an elderly gentleman, said, "It looks like your dog is trying to hypnotize me."
ReplyDeleteI know that feeling, I have actually fallen over mine, thank God neither of us ended uo hurt!
ReplyDeleteCait, you nailed it! Ruby does this all the time. After almost 13 years, I *expect* it, but it still surprises me that I don't hear her - she's just THERE!
ReplyDeleteThat's why I keep all tags on my dogs, so I can hear them when they move about. But mine are deviants! Especially Jazzie. They run to see what they can get into when I'm not looking.
ReplyDeleteour little girl has added her own little twist to this game. she waits 'til someone moves and runs over to take their spot. it started with stealing her daddy's game chair when he got up for a beer. now it happens to everyone, even guests. at first, we asked each other why she did that... now we just laugh.
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