On the one hand, my inner neuroscientist disagrees with the entire idea of “canine autism”. On the other hand, have you *met* a border collie?
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My lab mix would like to know if you have met BALL
sep 3, 2025, 1:49 am • 16 0 • view
He would chase the BALL until his legs shook even as an elderly dog. (Photo was taken with a BALL held up beside the camera.)
sep 4, 2025, 1:21 am • 11 0 • view
I can tell he's looking straight at THE BALL😀
sep 4, 2025, 8:09 pm • 4 0 • view
the focus!
sep 4, 2025, 4:59 pm • 2 0 • view
It was like facing down a laser gun. When he wanted that ball, by God his entire body and soul was involved.
sep 4, 2025, 5:01 pm • 5 0 • view
One of the ways we knew his time had come was loss of interest in playing ball. When he lost interest in food too, then we knew he was done.
sep 4, 2025, 5:01 pm • 5 0 • view
That’s the hardest, the waiting and the knowing, every day borrowed time. My last dog was like that - we knew she had health issues, and the vet said it was just a matter of time. When she no longer looked joyous as soon as someone said the w-word, we knew.
sep 4, 2025, 6:10 pm • 3 0 • view
Every day is a gift and when it stops being one for them as well as for you, it’s time to let them go. I have laid 11 dogs, 5 cats, 4 horses and a ferret to rest in my adult life and it never gets any easier. And I wouldn’t want it to.
sep 4, 2025, 11:56 pm • 2 0 • view
Yes! Sylvie would go until she couldn't carry the ball because her jaw muscles were over tired and lay around moaning from sore muscles when we got home. There would be no stopping if it was up to her. (She's 9 now & her legs get tired before her jaw.)
sep 4, 2025, 2:34 am • 4 0 • view
Motley, the dog in my photo, was saved by his ball obsession. At age 11, he ate a pair of socks. He had an unfortunate habit of doing this all his life—had 2 gastric surgeries—we thought this time would be his last. Scheduled euthanasia. Morning of, I played ball with him one last time…
sep 4, 2025, 2:41 am • 5 0 • view
…and he shat out the socks an hour before the appointment. Vet said the activity had probably “moved things along.” He lived another 2 1/2 years and saw me through one of the most difficult times of my adult life: my mother’s month-long dying process. Thank God for that ball.
sep 4, 2025, 2:43 am • 13 0 • view
What a good boy!
sep 4, 2025, 6:01 am • 6 0 • view
My all time favorite vet call: "That appointment I have for Motley today?" (said cheerfully). "Uh... yes?" said the receptionist (who, for obvious reasons, knows us very, very well). "We can 🎶 cancel 🎶 it!" "He pooped?" "Yep." "Do I wanna know?" "Socks." "Plural??" "Yep." "Oh, Motley."
sep 4, 2025, 4:19 pm • 7 0 • view
Good dog.
sep 4, 2025, 2:48 am • 2 0 • view
I think dogs have ADHD.
sep 3, 2025, 1:18 am • 3 0 • view