Hey, That's My Dish

     Have you ever observed when two dogs are eating in the same room, out of their own dish, that they inevitably switch places at some time during their meal? Even if they are both eating the exact same food, it's a ritual that must take place. Proof of this ritual was documented on film recently.

     We were scheduled to dog sit for neighbor dog Bracken, which also included a sleep over. Because of an appointment, we needed to be out of town for most of the day. Tucker's mom, Diane, took our Whitney and Bracken for the day.
     At suppertime, Diane set out Whitney's and Bracken's food in the kitchen. Each dog went to their assigned dish and began to eat. Tucker, as he always does, ate his supper downstairs. At some point, both dogs wandered around the kitchen, leaving their dishes unattended. Upon returning to their eating, Bracken went to Whitney's dish and Whitney to Bracken's. Both dogs happily finished each others meal, and eagerly awaited Tucker's return.

     I'm sure Tucker inspected the empty bowls and was a bit miffed that he wasn't able to participate in the switching of the bowls. (A feat that Tucker is quite capable of  doing whenever he stays at our house.)
     We arrived home shortly after suppertime, and brought both Whitney and Bracken back to our house. Upon entering the kitchen it took Bracken about two seconds to find Whitney's untouched dish of food from the morning.
     As he began to gobble up his second meal in less than an hour, Whitney stared on in disbelief. As she intently watched him it was as if she were saying, "I can't believe you're still hungry."
     Suddenly the realization hit her: she looked up at me and what I heard when I looked into her eyes was, "Hey, that's my dish!"
     Imagine the chaos if we 'two-leggers' sat down to a meal and then, half done with our plate, we reached over and took the plate from the person sitting next to us.
     Fortunately in the dog world this is totally acceptable behavior.

     So long, I'll see you soon!