Virgil

First I have to apologize. There has been so much activity on the blogs that I can't keep up. I can't possibly read it all, so I have to be selective. I'm sorry if I don't get to yours.

Ok, everyone knows how I love dogs. To me dogs just love more than other animals, even more than humans. It's not that I don't care for other pets, but I do have a special bond for dogs and this story just shows why.

The castaway dog who swam SIX miles through shark-infested waters, then survived FOUR months on a desert island
By Richard Shears

But Sophie Tucker, a grey and black cattle dog, wasn't going to give up that easily.
The determined pet swam six miles through ferocious shark-infested seas to an island, where she survived for more than four months by hunting wild goats for food.

Sophie Tucker fell overboard in rough seas and swam through shark infested waters to safety
The extraordinary story of the castaway hound emerged today when Miss Griffith was reunited with her beloved pet.
'I thought I'd never see her again, but she's proved to be a dog who can really look after herself,' said Miss Griffith.

Sophie Tucker, named after the American vaudeville comedian, fell overboard from the family's yacht when they ran into bad weather off the Queensland coastal town of Mackay.
Miss Griffith and her friends searched the area, putting their own lives at risk in the rough seas, but there was no sign of Sophie Tucker.

Unknown to them, the dog swam towards remote St Bees Island, a quiet volcanic strip of land fringed with reefs.

[SNIP]

When the bodies of several young goats were found, locals contacted wildlife rangers and word of a dog on the island reached the ears of Miss Griffith and her family.

'We wondered whether it could be Sophie Tucker but thought 'No way'.
'She would have had to have swum through five miles of sea to get there and then work out how to survive.
'It just couldn't be her, we decided, but when we were told the dog had been caught and they were bringing it to the mainland we thought we should have a look.'

They waited at the marina as the rangers' boat came in - and there in the cage was a grey and black dog.

'We called her name and she went crazy - whimpering and banging on the cage, so they let her out and she ran over to us and almost knocked us over with excitement,' Miss Griffiths said.

'She's settled in well back at home now. I think she's appreciating the air conditioning.'

Locals said it was astonishing that Sophie Tucker had not been attacked by sharks.
Even though she was lost inside the Great Barrier Reef, which tends to keep sharks away from the coast, tiger sharks and hammerheads do swim through the coral - and dogs are at particular risk.
'The smell of a wet dog is irresistible to a shark,' said a fisherman.

'You don't often hear of dogs surviving if they decide to go for a bit of a swim. Even a big fish will have a go at their legs.

'So for this dog to swim for five miles or so, and then swim a bit between islands, is incredible. She's a very lucky animal.'

You can read the whole article and see pictures of the island here:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...rt-island.html.

So the poor pooch swam six miles and landed on an island and survived off goats. Here's a picture of the miraculous dog:



A great story but what really caught my eye was this in the article:

'We called her name and she went crazy - whimpering and banging on the cage, so they let her out and she ran over to us and almost knocked us over with excitement,' Miss Griffiths said.

After all that and the separation for four months, the dog went crazy with excitement when seeing her family. I have had similar experiences with my dogs, Sasha and Brandi, after putting them up for boarding for a week or more. They just miss you and are thrilled with getting back with you. They jump and and wag and wimper with excitement. Anyone who thinks dogs don't have cognitive function and memory and emotional experience don't know what they're talking about. I'll end with a few pictures of Brandi, my beloved Yellow Labrador Retreiver.