the rix mix

The late Bruce Longstreet & I liked animals. We regarded the native inteliigence & feelings of dogs & cats so highly that we weren't inclined to anthropomorphize them. We discovered we had the same response to barking dogs. If we were walking down the street, & some dog was barking furiously at us from behind a fence or window, we sometimes stopped & looked at it, The dog might then stop barking or go even more nuts. But our purpose was the same: We didn't want the dog to believe it had chased us away when we were only walking past its house. Then we'd stroll very slowly off down the street. "I won't give it that satisfaction," I said. Bruce said, "We're the alpha dogs." I said, "To a dog, we must project ourselves as larger & more beautiful but amicable dogs." Bruce said, "They have no idea how bad our sense of smell is. If we fake like we're sniffing something, a dog will come over & sniff it too." I replied, "Yes, & then surprise us by peeing on the spot." Bruce said, "We fooled it into thinking we smelled what it smelled."