Le Bark

As I left the house with the dogs yesterday morning, Stella began her incessant barking. As usual, I wondered what the hell she was saying. Announcing her presence to the world? Warning the birds that Stella Was Here? My other two dogs ignore her, so I doubt she is talking trash to them. Every walk is the same. Yappety yap yap yap. So, I started thinking... If I took my dogs to another country, would the dogs there understand them? Are there regional dialects in the dog world? I’ve always thought Scotties in Scotland would probably say “Barrrrrk, Rrrrruff, Grrrrowl”. As a child, I loved the Pepe Le Pew cartoons. A female black cat would somehow get a stripe down her back, and Pepe (a skunk) would fall in love, and pursue her. The poor little thing would frantically run away, speaking kitty French “Le pant, le puff, le mew”. I know that was the cartoon world, but still... do dogs in France bark similarly to that little cartoon cat? I believe dogs talk to each other. Isn’t it reasonable that a huge barrier like the ocean would create a language difference even in the animal kingdom? It’s too bad someone hasn’t invented a machine to decipher barking. We, as humans, guess what is being said, but it’s only a guess. We muddle through, knowing when our pets are hungry or need a potty break. The in-between noise, however, is what I’m interested in. Yesterday, Cosmo made a noise somewhere between a whine, and a squeaky screen door. Very intriguing. At the time he was lying under the coffee table, not wedged, just lounging. The noise he made sounded like there was a purpose to it... something meaningful. Or maybe he was yanking my chain, and just feeding me gibberish. Tee hee. Oh you dogs are crafty, with your secret language. Someday we will crack the code. Maybe.