by Vicki Brown

Created on: June 06, 2008   Last Updated: October 08, 2009

I am the lucky human of a West Highland White Terrier or Westie for short. Terriers are a very intelligent group of canines. Bugsy, my Westie, has the classic "short man's" syndrome. He weighs 23 pounds and is 11" tall. His head is larger in comparison to the rest of him. Part of that is to make room for his large brain and part to have room for ginormous teeth. Westies have the third strongest jaw in the canine world. So Bugsy thinks he can take on a Rottweiler.

They (who are "they"?) say that dogs can't see two-dimensional objects like a TV for instance. They see the piece of furniture because it's three-dimensional but "they" say dogs can't see what's on the screen. I beg to differ.

Not only can Bugsy see what's on the screen, he reacts to what he sees and hears. We always watch the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. When it's time for the Terrier Group to come out and be judged, Bugsy sits up straight literally on the edge of his seat.

When the judge has the Westie on the table, Bugsy is visibly tense. He reacts much differently than he does to any other breed. When the judge has made his/her pick for best in group and the winner isn't a Westie, Bugsy loses all interest.

There have been several commercials over the last few years that have a Westie in them. As soon as he hears the first sound of one of those commercials, Bugsy gets up close and personal with the TV screen. None of them begin with a dog barking. I don't think any of them have a dog barking at all. But, whatever the commercial begins with, Bugsy knows it has a Westie in it.

If I'm upset and I cry, Bugsy licks my tears. I know "they" say it's because of the salt in the tears but if Bugsy hears a woman cry on TV he comes right to me and licks my face. No tears hence no salt. He hears a sound that he associates with me being upset and therefore in need of comforting and he licks my face to provide that comfort. He doesn't walk away when there are no tears hence no salt. He licks my face because he loves me.

Personally, I think "they" need to get a life!

Over the years I've watched Bugsy adjust his pace to my elderly parents and my infant granddaughter. My golden retriever is trained to go down and up stairs in front of me and on my left. Bugsy decides where he should be in relation to how I am walking. I have bad knees and my balance is unpredictable. He gauges how I'm walking and then adapts his pace and position accordingly.

He once ran back up the stairs to prevent me from falling head first

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