Speaking of dogs...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/animals/husky-shocked-to-hear-best-friend-is-coming-to-play/vi-AAymIGZ?ocid=mailsignout

I have to wonder how much understanding dogs REALLY have of the future, even as in "ten minutes from now," but I've known at least one adorable dog - a Westie - that would perk up immediately when told that he was going to see so-and-so.

As I was leaving the Seattle Costco (the very first Costco store) yesterday, I noticed a dog -- it was either an Australian Shepherd or an Australian Shepherd mix -- looking attentively at all the people exiting, obviously waiting for his/her owner(s.) I stood there for a few minutes, finishing my canine caliente** and watching the dog. Although its eyes were pointed in the direction of the exit, I found myself wondering if it would know the eventual arrival of its owner(s) more by scent than by appearance. In fact, even with the scents of all the other people streaming out of the store, would it be able to detect its owners(s) by scent before actually seeing them? I suspect the answer is yes.

** As anyone who has patronized a Costco "Food Court" knows, one of their offerings is a hot dog & a soft drink for $1.50 (still the same price after all these years.) Although I rarely drink sugary soft drinks anymore, I almost ways get a regular Pepsi when I get the hot dog/soft drink combo at Costco, a small guilty pleasure. Yesterday, I was puzzled when I saw the only Pepsi choices were Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Zero. (I got Pepsi Zero and could immediately tell the difference; I didn't like it.) Then it hit me that this Costco store -- the only Seattle-area Costco within the Seattle city limits -- must have eliminated regular Pepsi because of the new sweetened beverage tax the city of Seattle imposed as of January 1st. When I got home, I found out I was right.

They could have chosen, of course, to keep regular Pepsi and raise the $1.50 price but that would have "penalized" the people who typically choose one of the non-sugary options and I'm sure they also wanted to maintain that traditional $1.50 price.

I'm also reminded of something else I heard about dogs a few years ago. Many dog owners say that their dogs know when they are coming home from work. The dog expert said that this may very well be true but that it's not because dogs have some psychic ability. He (or she) said that it's because there's a certain scent level in a home when a person leaves for work in the morning and that the level decreases throughout the day. From experience, the dog knows that when this scent level reaches a certain low point, that the owner is likely to appear. I'd never heard that explanation before and it makes perfect sense to me.