"Dog Whisperer" Cesar Milan says dogs live completely in the present moment. They don't care about what happened before, he says. They only care about now.
I disagree.
Dogs probably aren't all that different from people in this respect. We all live in the present moment, sometimes; but we also think about the past, and anticipate (or worry about) the future. Most people look forward to the some things and dread others.
The dogs I've known do the same.
Actually, I suspect there's not much qualitative difference between how Bao feels when we drive into the vet's parking lot, and how I feel when the dentist calls to remind me of my appointment.
So of course when I got the suitcase down from the top shelf this morning, Bao knew right away what was going to happen. He watched me pack for a while (Why am I packing on Wednesday if I'm not leaving until Friday? Because if I take my time, I don't forget as many things) and then he went and got one of his toys, and placed it carefully in the suitcase with my clothes.
Living in the present moment?
I don't think so.
I think this morning, Bao was living in the future. I think his mind was full of happy visions of new places, new smells and long snoozes in the car. He loves to travel . So why shouldn't he look forward to hitting the road?
After all, checking into a Sheraton is a lot more fun than a visit to the vet.
Or for that matter, to the dentist.