Peter Lake

April 21, 2012

When I saw the picture of you and your dog in the NY Times I was reminded of a time on NPR several years ago when yo usaid you taught your dog to read.

I figured that if you could do it, so could I, so I taught my Norwich terrier, Spike, how to read. Not War and Peace or Shakespeare, but the usual dog words, “Sit, speak, roll over, solve this differential equation….” That kind of stuff.

He was about nine then and what I found most interesting was that he resented his reading lessons. Whenever I’d hold up the file card with his command on it, he’d growl and grumble before he complied.

When I read that some sheepdog could understand a thousand words then my achievement seemed slightly diminished, but nonetheless I wanted to thank you for that bit of inspiration.

Spike’s gone now, buried at sea beside a bell buoy at the mouth of Marblehead Harbor, and you can see his funeral on YouTube at spikethemoviedog.

Here he is on the beach, doing what he enjoyed, which wasn’t reading.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCPFyTBFtoY

Regards,
Peter Lake

You know, I never liked being told what to read either. I hope you have gotten, or will get, another dog. Maybe you can get that one a library card, and let him pick what he likes.