Mysterious minds: More stories to share

I hope this letter is finding you and your family well this Christmas season!

Likely you’re finding that my letters are different in many ways than the ones Jennifer puts out. We both have something unique to share with all of you. And I was so very pleased at the response I got from others telling their stories about how their dogs acted upon a sixth sense, a way to read people, or perhaps an instinctive intuition.

Here are a few of what they shared:

A story about a dog who knew just what to do when a little girl was hurt:

Levi comes to comfort us anytime we sneeze or yelp.  Our daughter Lucy had slipped when Levi was young this past March.   She fell and cried.  Levi quickly approached and wrapped his neck around her body to give her a hug.  He will show us love with his feet sometime, which he still doesn't stop this behavior.  The nails.dig in and it hurts so when we react in pain, he can tell we were hurt (and may not realize why often throwing another paw on our lap).  He also brings toys, lays at our feet, looks into our eyes or runs on us.  

Here is a letter from a woman who was afraid of her dogs getting off leash as the traffic in her neighborhood posed a threat to her two cherished dogs. See what happens when love supersedes freedom:

On this particular day in deep December of 2019, just 8 weeks after right knee surgery, I fell  to the ground after tripping on a tree stump I did not see. As I fell to the ground in absolute agony, I dropped the leashes of both dogs. They took off!  I was seeing stars and everything started turning black and all I could think of is "They're going to die...my dogs are going to get hit by a car and killed."  I tried screaming for my husband to no avail. I put my face to the ground crying wondering how I was ever going to get up and retrieve my dogs and started crying. Of course I prayed." Lord, I need you now!"  Within seconds, I felt Mackie licking my face and tears. She laid down next to me and was whimpering but also strangely playful trying to scootch her head under the crook of my elbow as I contemplated my next move. I decided my only recourse was to "commando-crawl" into the house. I was able to get Finn's leash  but not hers. No matter, she stayed right by me as I crawled into the house and called my husband who finally heard me and got me safely in the door, pups in tow.

In case you couldn’t tell, I’ve been enamoured with our three white females and, of course, my Yeti. If you didn’t get a chance to see a wonderful film clip with them, here is the link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk_zYumt5cE

There is also a short video with the latest clips of Jesse’s magnificent seven. Two weeks old now and eyes are opening up! As promised, I have the link now to that video:  https://youtu.be/tZXHYiBnuzk?si=94vNQWlPzMwN3k-3

Jennifer Stoeckl is the co-founder of the Dire Wolf Project, founder of the DireWolf Guardians American Dirus Dog Training Program, and owner/operator of DireWolf Dogs of Vallecito. She lives in the beautiful inland northwest among the Ponderosa pine forests with her pack of American Dirus dogs.