Dog Whisperer

Okay, I did manage to get out for a while yesterday.  The Dog Whisperer of Yolo County (please visit http://www.theroadhome-dogs.org/collies/ ) also known as Dr. Cathy Toft, who is lucky she carries the whispering moniker because a bronchial thing has pretty much wiped out her voice, swung over to take me along on a Collie home visit.  Our plan was to grab some lunch somewhere down that way, but unfortunately, I don’t “do lunch” anywhere, much less down South where I never go, so we ended up at Togo’s.  Great sandwich, quiet so I could hear, and interesting conversation. 

It was pretty cool that on my little sojourn to San Diego this past weekend I came across a mob (sure, they may be technically a flock or something, but these guys were definitely a mob) of marauding wild red-capped parrots.  I’d never seen anything like it before as they swooped in each morning at the same time, screaming like eagles, settling into the Eucalyptus trees for berries.  They hit like an attacking Mongol Horde for a few minutes, the remaining berry parts zipping like shrapnel through the air, then poof—they screamed off.  They repeated this performance each day.  So, in conversation with Cathy, I learned that the express purpose of her sabbatical this year is to finish the book she’s writing on parrots.  So, I got to learn even more about those crazy birds that captured my attention.  Who knew? 

What I like about going with her on these little home checks is watching her talk, probe, question, and elicit more information than the people involved even know she has gathered.  It helps ensure the placement of a rescue Collie is a success the first time.  It’s a gifted combination of understanding both people and animals.

There aren’t that many people in a given life who impart their knowledge in such a way as to make it comfortable to learn.  I’m sure her students have appreciated it over the years, I know I do.

Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a fire.

~ William B. Yeats

Published on: Jul 11, 2006