Rocky’s world is large, by the standards of a pony, perhaps eight to ten acres of his own. The old barn collapsed last winter, and Rocky hugs it for shade. He eats his hay by the standing barn. Ahead is a long straight pasture leading to the trees where he likes to brush himself. To the left is a fresh water stream that runs all year, where he can always get water. It is always amazing to see him maneuver his way around, using his smell and perhaps the feel of the well-trodden paths under his hooves. In mid-day he is usually found standing in the shade of the barns. In the mornings and afternoons, he is grazing.
He is very much at home in his world. When Maria or I appear now, he whinnies and comes trotting over. He likes to be talked to and brushed a bit, then heads off to walk in his world.
I’ve been wondering for years if dogs can really smile, reading every book and behavioral study I can find about it.
I don’t believe Frieda has ever smiled and neither do most of the strange people and animals she encounters, who often end up running for their lives. I never saw Rose show any expression remotely like smiling. I often thought she was disgusted with me, and would show up with a briefcase to resign and look for work on a sane farm. Lenore sometimes has a look I would consider a smile, especially if there is something disgusting to eat, and so does Izzy, who not only seems to be smiling, but laughing at me. Izzy is smooth, a charmer.
I want to start off this subject by uttering the three words rarely, if ever heard in the realm of animal behavior – I don’t know.
I don’t really know if dogs smile, even though many dog lovers insist that they do (almost as many as say their dogs are abused, grieve like humans, or suffer separation anxiety.) People tell me all the time they know exactly what their dogs are thinking, but I do not have that gift, except when food is involved or taking a walk. I don’t think anybody else really knows if dogs can smile either, although there is no shortage of opinions about it.
I had the good fortune to write a blurb for behaviorist Stanley Coren’s fascinating new book “Dog Dogs Dream,” out in July from Norton, Inc. and Coren gamely takes on a lot of these questions.
But he isn’t sure dogs smile either. “Even if we believe that dogs actually smile,” he wrote, “there is still the question of whether they can ratchet their emotional expression up a notch and produce something that is the canine equivalent of laughter.”
Some researchers believe dogs do laugh. I am wary. I think animal researchers understand where grant money comes from. Nobody ever a research grant or book contract or TV deal to show that dogs are stupid, cowardly, unfeeling or incapable of laughter. Lots of money is spent each year measuring the words a border collie knows – we’re up to about 1,600 now, I think. I’ve always been puzzled as to why a border collie needs to know all of these words. The only words Rose ever cared about was “get the sheep.” We didn’t discuss politics or religion.
Nobel Laureate and dog lover Konrad Lorenz believed that dogs are capable of laughing and they do so mostly when they’re playing. This canine smiling begins with the slight opening of the jaws, revealing the tongue over their front teeth.
I see, as Coren did, that there is one facial expression that comes close to what we mean by smiling in humans. In this expression, slightly opened jaws reveal the dog’s tongue sticking out over his front teeth. Or the open mouth with what appears to be a smile, as Izzy is showing in the above photo. Is Izzy smiling? Truthfully, I don’t know.
When I took this photo I was telling him a joke about a border collie and a sheep. I can’t repeat it here. So maybe it is so.
It’s one of the oldest stories, the Fox and The Chicken. Two weeks after a fox nearly ate her alive, Fran is back walking around with the other hens, doing the elemental chicken things – scratching at the ground with her feet, pecking at bugs, looking for seeds, moving, moving, moving. I do not want a chicken holed up in a coop all day, so the chickens are free to roam the farm in daylight, and are locked up securely at night.
The life if a chicken is almost primal in the clear outlines of a chickens’ life. Many things will eat them, and they trade a measure of freedom for this potential sacrifice. It is the story of the chicken, forever and again. They are dinner for many species. This fox and chicken story turned out happily, and I believe Fran, who was near death, was brought back to life by the care Maria gave her, and the good will and powerful energy of so many people out there all over the world. She seemed to float back to life on the goodwill and brights spots in the human heart. Do not believe the news. There are many sacred sparks in many human hearts.
You will, in fact, never see this story on the news, as there is no profit in such a simple and sweet tale. It doesn’t make anyone angry or argumentative, and will not be debated by experts on Fox News or CNN. It cannot really exploited, unless you write about animals and take photos of them. Sadly, it has little place in our public dialogue, which is too bad. I love being a part of such an old story, of seeing such a happy ending. You can see the world as a grim and awful place. Or not.
