A dog’s memory

He lived with us for only a month. And remembered us almost two years later.

Although you might ask: what is one month, really?

A friend of mine found a dog on the street. Miki. She looked for his previous owners and found them, but realized he should not be returned there.

While people were looking for a new home for him, we took him in.

I’m more of a cat person, really. But I took to walking him two or three times a day quite well. It is useful, sometimes, to get away from the computer.

My then-girlfriend wanted a dog. So for her, it was a chance to understand what living with one would actually be like.

The only one who did not support us was the cat. But, of course, we had wisely chosen not to ask for his opinion.

For about a month, we walked Miki, fed him, and played with him. We simply gave him a calm home for a while.

We could not keep him forever, because we travel too often. So we found him a reliable new home.

That could have been the end of the story. But there was one more meeting.

Just the other day, almost two years after all that, we went to visit his new owner. It was already late, and the yard was dark. She had just come out for the evening walk with the dogs.

We were still sitting in the car when Miki noticed us.

Through the window.

He started pulling toward us, whining softly, standing up on his hind legs.

We got out. And from the way he greeted us, there was no doubt: he remembered.

For us, it was a month of caring for a dog. For him, apparently, it was something much bigger.

Now, whenever I hear “it’s just an animal,” I think of Miki.

Have animals ever recognized you after a long time apart?