Brandy was really smart. I know…we all say that about our “children”…but it is really true.
Brandy & Molly
And her smarts were not dog smarts but more like people smarts. Does that make sense? Perhaps it was because she was so tuned into me. I don’t know. What I do know is that our communication was all through eye contact and slight head movements…and she always got the message.
Brandy also tried very hard to talk. She would make this noise in her throat when she was close to you and I know as well as I am writing this that she was trying to get those vocal cords to form people words! But not to worry…I spoke for her. I learned to create voices when I was a little girl, taught by my younger brother when he was about 4 years old. I can do all the chipmunks – Alvin, Simon and Theodore – au naturel! Over the years, I have created voices for my various dog children, all having a voice suited to them – nothing generic. Each dog knows their own voice and the voice of the others.
Oddly, I never created talking voices for cats…only dogs. Wonder why? That’s not to say that I didn’t/don’t create voices for the cats. I do. But I only use the voice to talk to them….they don’t talk back… Funny, huh?
Brandy’s voice was deep in the back of the throat and tended to have a tonal quality sometimes like a kazoo. She spoke in almost a monotone and had a penchant for stating the obvious with authority. One of her favorite expressions was “Do you want me to baat ‘em? I wee-eelll!” Molly spoke with a lisp and always tried very hard to sound quite learned. Sara speaks with a southern accent. Don’t ask. She was not born in the south but I think she is partially a reincarnation of our beloved Cara (who was born in VA and spoke with a southern accent) whose sudden departure due to old age facilitated the adoption of Sara. Losing Cara was really hard on Bob and Sara came to live with us very soon after. It was probably fitting that Sara have the same voice. Sara’s voice is very high pitched and can be quite loud! She has the funny habit of making words plural…like ‘foods’, Mummas and Da-yads. But, if you call her ‘Saras’ she corrects you. Go Figure. Then there is our Jake, a Rat Terrier/Jack Russell cross. He has a tiny, crackly voice that is difficult to understand. He tends to go on and on about nothing, frequently getting a “Never mind, Jake!” from Bob.