Oscar and the Sunset Appreciation Society
Oscar and I had to view the beautiful sunset!
The sky was fabulous as we both looked up in appreciation to admire the bursts of brilliant color...oh wait! Oscar can't see all the colors! What does this mean for his appreciation of sunsets? Dogs can only see two colors (and various shades of those colors) which are blue and yellow. Sunsets do have yellows against a blue sky, but he misses out on the oranges and reds and pinks and purples that can really make a sunset fabulous.
So what do dogs think when they see us humans staring up at the sky. Do they think, there they go again, just like when they see us staring down at books or talking to little flat rectangles? Or do they sense there is something special about sunsets too even if they are appreciating the sunset for a different reason?
I think they sense the majesty of sunsets in their own way. The change of light indicates something important in the animal world. It is time for the birds to stop their singing and the animals to nestle in the comfort of their nighttime routine. It is time for the creatures of the night to burst forth and prowl the world again. It is a changing of the guards between the day animals and the nocturnal animals. Maybe even Oscar feels a stir in his heart during this transition..his old wolf genes tugging at his instincts. But he's domesticated, so after a flash of that desire to roam wild in the night, he looks back at the setting sun and appreciates the comfort of domesticity and peace of a daytime life.
The sky was fabulous as we both looked up in appreciation to admire the bursts of brilliant color...oh wait! Oscar can't see all the colors! What does this mean for his appreciation of sunsets? Dogs can only see two colors (and various shades of those colors) which are blue and yellow. Sunsets do have yellows against a blue sky, but he misses out on the oranges and reds and pinks and purples that can really make a sunset fabulous.
So what do dogs think when they see us humans staring up at the sky. Do they think, there they go again, just like when they see us staring down at books or talking to little flat rectangles? Or do they sense there is something special about sunsets too even if they are appreciating the sunset for a different reason?
I think they sense the majesty of sunsets in their own way. The change of light indicates something important in the animal world. It is time for the birds to stop their singing and the animals to nestle in the comfort of their nighttime routine. It is time for the creatures of the night to burst forth and prowl the world again. It is a changing of the guards between the day animals and the nocturnal animals. Maybe even Oscar feels a stir in his heart during this transition..his old wolf genes tugging at his instincts. But he's domesticated, so after a flash of that desire to roam wild in the night, he looks back at the setting sun and appreciates the comfort of domesticity and peace of a daytime life.