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penfield"We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment."
- George Eliot
Seeing-eye dogs are awesome.
I don't know how they teach these dogs to do what they do, whether it's all done with repetitive stimuli and milk bones or what. But the fact that they can mold these animals into working extensions of the sensory-motor cortex is nothing short of amazing.
Because let's face it: dogs are stupid. Don't get me wrong, they're lovely creatures -- loyal and devoted, stalwart and simple, unencumbered by reason. But their brains seem ill-equipped for anything more than purely instinctual, primitive behavior. They eat, poo, sleep and lick themselves at every opportunity. They are the "men" of the domesticated animal species.
So the dogs chosen for the seeing-eye program must be the very best of the best, the cream of the crop, the Navy SEALS of the canine community. These dogs are easily smarter than many humans I have met personally.
But they are not perfect. I was leaving a Metro station the other day and prepared to cross Eye Street at the intersection of 15th and Vermont Avenue.
It's one of those stupid lights where the oncoming traffic will be commonly be stopped at a red light but the pedestrian sign continues to give "the hand." Most reasonable people cross the road anyway without worry.
On this particular morning, there was a sightless individual with his seeing-eye dog at the same corner, waiting to cross the same street, even as the oncoming traffic was clearly stopped. The dog too was parked but poised, presumably waiting for the WALK signal, even as dozens people traipsed right past them.
I couldn't help wondering what the blind guy was wondering as he just stood there, hearing all those people brush by on their way to work. I felt bad, but not bad enough to actually go up and offer to help him across the street. So I waited there with them. In solidarity with that guy and the dog, I waited for that stupid goddamned walk signal.
When the signal finally came on, the dog waited there a few extra beats. At first, I thought the dog was lost, or poorly trained, or just fucking with his owner. But I guess the dog had just gotten a little bored waiting there and let his mind wander. Eventually the dog dragged him across the street. Hopefully there weren't too many intersections on his way to work, or else he might still be out there somewhere.
So it's official. I'm smarter and faster than a dog. Well, that particular dog, anyway.
- George Eliot
Seeing-eye dogs are awesome.
I don't know how they teach these dogs to do what they do, whether it's all done with repetitive stimuli and milk bones or what. But the fact that they can mold these animals into working extensions of the sensory-motor cortex is nothing short of amazing.
Because let's face it: dogs are stupid. Don't get me wrong, they're lovely creatures -- loyal and devoted, stalwart and simple, unencumbered by reason. But their brains seem ill-equipped for anything more than purely instinctual, primitive behavior. They eat, poo, sleep and lick themselves at every opportunity. They are the "men" of the domesticated animal species.
So the dogs chosen for the seeing-eye program must be the very best of the best, the cream of the crop, the Navy SEALS of the canine community. These dogs are easily smarter than many humans I have met personally.
But they are not perfect. I was leaving a Metro station the other day and prepared to cross Eye Street at the intersection of 15th and Vermont Avenue.
It's one of those stupid lights where the oncoming traffic will be commonly be stopped at a red light but the pedestrian sign continues to give "the hand." Most reasonable people cross the road anyway without worry.
On this particular morning, there was a sightless individual with his seeing-eye dog at the same corner, waiting to cross the same street, even as the oncoming traffic was clearly stopped. The dog too was parked but poised, presumably waiting for the WALK signal, even as dozens people traipsed right past them.
I couldn't help wondering what the blind guy was wondering as he just stood there, hearing all those people brush by on their way to work. I felt bad, but not bad enough to actually go up and offer to help him across the street. So I waited there with them. In solidarity with that guy and the dog, I waited for that stupid goddamned walk signal.
When the signal finally came on, the dog waited there a few extra beats. At first, I thought the dog was lost, or poorly trained, or just fucking with his owner. But I guess the dog had just gotten a little bored waiting there and let his mind wander. Eventually the dog dragged him across the street. Hopefully there weren't too many intersections on his way to work, or else he might still be out there somewhere.
So it's official. I'm smarter and faster than a dog. Well, that particular dog, anyway.
