Macy brings me such comfort and joy. Although she may not be able to speak English or understand all of our complex sentences, she fully and very acutely understands even subtle emotions and interactions.
I'll give you two examples.
The other day I was experiencing some pain. Even though I made no sound and was in another room, Macy sensed my need.
She got up from her dog bed, pushed open the door to the room that I was in, and came over to comfort me.
Once my pain lessened, she wagged her tail happily and returned to her dog bed. Incredible.
Other subtitles that she detects keenly is the faint line of my silent permission or lack thereof. For instance, if Michael is walking out the kitchen door to put items in our recycling bin and if he calls out for her to join him, she'll run to the door and wag her tail at him -- but she will not leave the house.
Yes, she wants to please him, but first she needs my permission to step over the threshold. And she's noticed that my back is turned and I'm preoccupied with washing the dishes. She'll wait. In the meantime, she'll smile and wag her tail eagerly at Michael so that he knows that she desires to please him. She just needs her mama's "yes" first. :)
And then, when I am ready to give it, I don't even need to speak. I know I can just turn and look at her once, and my silent nod will be all that she needs to bolt out the door. Truly, she can read my eyes. But first, I think I'll test her keen sense of subtly. I'll turn and just smile at her. I won't give any indication of my permission to go outside.
Finally, all testing aside--and now firmly convinced that this dog is a genius--I turn from the dishes and look at her again, this time with different eyes and an ever-so-slight nod to indicate that going out would be fine.
She catches my drift immediately, and out she goes.
Michael thinks this happened because he said something differently or maybe got slightly stern with her. But Macy and I know what really happened. :)
