The Wagging: A Dog’s Tale
The Works of Mark Edgemon from All-Creatures.org

Mark Edgemon has been writing for 30 years. He writes and publishes short stories, articles, poetry and scripts, as well as, produces audio comedy productions for over 700 radio stations nationwide.

Contact Mark through his website, Creator and the Catalyst.

The Wagging: A Dog’s Tale

Buster had dozens of ways he could wag his tail. He was a mix breed who was rescued from the local pound minutes before he was to be put to sleep. That was one of the deciding factors for the Brewsters to adopt him. He was friendly and appeared quite intelligent. He seemed to know a lot of things.

When he walked in on them while changing clothes, he would lower his head and back out of the room. When it was time for his meal, he would point to what he wanted. He would watch television with his family and help wake them up when the alarm sounded.

It wasn’t until months later that the Brewsters realized that there was patterns to Buster’s tail wagging. As they observed more closely, they could see forms of communication due to the fact that the patterns were consistent in certain situations.

When he wanted to go out he would get their attention and then wag his tail in a circular motion. The more urgent his need to go outside, the faster his tail would wag. He even had several distinctive types of wags when he was ready to eat, a different wag for each of his favorite foods.

The more they worked with him, the more they understood his language and were able to teach him more signals. It was like a mute or deaf person using sign language but in his case, he used his tail.

As months passed, they were having conversations with Buster, getting his opinion on many different issues. Then one day, the Brewsters realized something they had not thought about before. If Buster could talk through sign language by using his tail, then other dogs, maybe all animals could talk.

This new reality was exciting, causing the Brewsters to look at life differently. Buster agreed.

Copyright © 2008 Mark Edgemon

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