Even Intelligent Dogs Make Mistakes

I know I'm intelligent because Mary and Dwight tell me so all of the time. They pet me and tell me I'm beautiful and very smart. This makes me feel good.

I know you kids are all very smart, too. Kids are like sponges and soak up knowledge like water and it seems they can remember things for a very long time. Dogs can't remember as long as kids can, but we do learn by our mistakes.

It was a lovely warm day in April. The temperature had soared. Dwight and I went for my usual afternoon walk along the canal. Well, I saw something moving in the new shoots of grass and figured I'd go and investigate. There is always something moving along the canal and I never know what I'm going to find.

The thing that I saw was skinny and long. It was something I'd never seen before and was kind of a green and yellow color. It slithered along the ground, through the grass, heading the other way. I leapt and caught it, just before it got away. It wiggled and writhed and then suddenly... it bit me right on the side of my mouth. I let go of it in a real big hurry. The skin at the side of my mouth stung a little. It was a bit painful, but I didn't yelp. I must admit it startled me more than it hurt. I jumped back.

Dwight looked at my mouth and then scolded me for being so silly. He told me that I shouldn't catch garter snakes. Now, I know what those long, skinny wiggly things are. They are called garter snakes. Whoowhoo! I learned two new things today. One, not to catch long, skinny wiggly things that slither and hiss. Two, those long, skinny wiggly things that are green and yellow are called garter snakes.

That garter snake taught me a good lesson. I shouldn't try to catch snakes. But then, the next time I see one I will probably try just to see if I'm up to the challenge.

Be careful when you're out walking in the woods. I overheard Mary and Dwight talking and it seems like there are many different kind of snakes, and some of them are poisonous. Keep your eyes open and don't do anything silly. Oh, and the third thing I learned was that even intelligent dogs make mistakes.

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