Hearing is an emotive sense. For people who are deaf it is an ongoing frustration and an exhausting process as well. Those of us who can hear reasonably well are not always as sympathetic as we might be, especially when we are young and the deaf person is elderly and perhaps a bit slow as well. This week I have been thinking about selective hearing – Misty took a bad dose of it during a walk in the forest. She knows a return to base is mandatory when she is called and usually she keeps her minder in sight anyway. Not so on this occasion – Little Dog gets the scent of something interesting and dashes off at a high rate of knots down in amongst the dark trees. I called and called, then had a mental vision of darkness descending and a lost dog. Just as I was beginning to really be concerned, back she trots, expecting praise and treats. And of course that is just what she got – it is a rule of dog-training that they always be praised when they eventually return.
Just as well God is a good minder – because I am often like my dog!