We met a woman today who noticed the t-shirt one of us wore, with a picture of a Pembroke Welsh corgi on the front.
Our best friend, we said. He'd been astonishingly bright.
So she told us about her dog—also now gone—a Bernese mountain dog, with some collie mixed in.
"He was a genius," she said.
As evidence, she told us how one of her cats would escape, out to the meadow, where danger lurked. Coyotes, for instance.
So she would tell the Bernese mountain dog: "Go find the cat."
Off he'd go, into the meadow, sniffing for cat. When he found her, he had no way to bring her home. So he'd gently place his huge paw on her and press her down.
Then he would wait for the lady to come and retrieve her imprisoned cat.
Later that day, our friend Eric visited us, with Murdock, a west highland terrier. We told him how impressed we'd been with that Bernese mountain dog's intelligence..
Eric looked unimpressed.
"Sometimes my cat disappears in the house," he said.
He stared down at Murdoch.
"Where's kitty?" he said. "Find kitty."
Immediately Murdock went hunting her. Is she behind the television? Under the bed? Did she sneak into the pantry?
This was our house, with no cat. However, Murdock diligently looked for her. Just like that Bernese mountain dog, he understood—"Find kitty."
So, double proof—some dogs know exactly what you're talking about.
--Joyce and Richard