The 4-Legged Debaters

A strange thing happened today. Luky and I went out for a later-than-usual walk this morning and we ran into some neighbors - human + canine - who wanted to argue about Luky's lack of restraint (since he was, as is his habit, meandering throughout the small park sans leash). It was too early for me to have my best zingers top of mind, and Luky was too far away to join the debate, but the encounter did get my adrenaline going and probably did more to wake me up than the Mountain Dew I drank in the elevator.

By the time the other party realized that I was way too somnambulant to satisfy his obvious desire for a challenging shout, let alone actual fisticuffs, Luky was sitting at the curb waiting patiently for me to get with the program and head back to the loft. I told him what had happened and he simply adopted his intense lack-of-interest expression and scanned the street as if to suggest that I was NOT doing my job.

The whole incident reminded me of the time that Luky got into the debate with Clementine. Clementine was a donkey that lived in a horse stable we used to frequent (that was back when Luky's first human mom, Dooda, was here and she was - and presumably still is - a committed "horse girl"). Luky loved visiting the stables with her and hanging out, meeting the horses, and especially debating with Clementine.

Humans just have no idea about the philosophical prowess of animals. Most humans would simply never believe the degree of Luky's interest in Kierkegaard, or the Existentialists. And they certainly wouldn't expect Clementine to be able to discuss phenomenology like she did . . . at least that's what Luky says.

I was glad I found the photo (above) we captured of the two of them in deep disagreement over Sartre! It makes me wonder if our pugilistic neighbor could keep his footing in THAT debate.