Who Says Dogs Can't Reason?:My Dog Boomer

Silence is suspicious. Especially when it comes from an avidly active dog like my black lab mix, Boomer. This very thought entered my mind as I sat on the couch of my small apartment in San Diego one afternoon in May. I then then came to the realization that I hadn't seen my one-year old pup in some time.

I called his name.

Nothing.

I called again.

Nothing.

I stood up and was immediately greeted by a cowering dog with puppy eyes slinking around the corner.

Great.

If you've ever been a puppy owner, you know that this look is never good.

I went to investigate. I walked through the hallway, then examined the bathroom first, thinking that he had gotten into the trash.

Nope.

I went to the extra bedroom, thinking he had been on the guest bed, which he knew he was not allowed to do.

Nothing suspicious.

Finally, I walked to my bedroom and did a quick sweep. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Except...

a random pile of dirty laundry in the middle of my bedroom floor.

That's odd, I thought. I was certain that I picked up all of the dirty laundry earlier. I must be mistaken, I concluded as I began to pick up the variety of linens.

Then the smell hit me.

I looked around and saw nothing. Boomer was nowhere in sight. As I continued to pick up the discarded clothing, the smell became stronger. As I picked up the last article of fabric, I saw it-a giant pile of dog shit that had been carefully hidden by the suspicious pile.

I looked at the pile of feces for a long good while before finally accepting my fate and cleaning it up. As I did, however, I couldn't help but be in awe at my dog's intelligence. He actually pulled dirty clothes out of the hamper to hide his crime. In that moment, I realized: it was so brilliant...I couldn't even be mad.