“Trust
creates peace.” (Anonymous quote).
Trust is the foundation of every healthy
relationship. Relationships with dogs are not the exception to this rule. Genuine
friendships with dogs are based on trust
and communication.
Alexis Devine has always been eager to do her
best to optimize communication with her adopted dogs. In a delightful friendly
style, Alexis shares her personal journey with Bunny, a dog she adopted three
years before publishing her book. Alexis’s curiosity, kindness and sense of
wonder led her to seek new ways of understanding Bunny. For this reason, she resorted
to the use of buttons that her furry friend accepted with enthusiasm; Bunny uses
them to express herself. These buttons play recorded words when pressed.
Alexis Devine’s exploration eventually led her
to connect with researchers who study dog behavior, and now she is
collaborating with their work. Interestingly, the choice of buttons kindles conversations
with her dog, interactions that reveal fascinating insights into Bunny’s
thoughts, emotions and feelings. This kind of communication shines a light on
the ways Bunny perceives the world around her. If you’ve ever wondered whether
dogs have night dreams, you will learn about this topic in her book…
In addition to the anecdotes and dialogues
she shares, there are relevant snippets of Alexis’s life intertwined with
Bunny’s experiences. Alexis shares aspects about herself,
vulnerabilities and challenges she had to contend with, and a personal
adventure of self-discovery, growth and transformation. She also carves out
interesting reflections about life in general, inviting the readers to
appreciate situations from refreshing perspectives.
There are a few chapters about research on
animal communication interspersed throughout her book. I chose to read these
chapters separately because I did not like to be distracted from the story of
Alexis and Bunny.
Alexis Devine is an artist and entrepreneur
from Seattle, Washington. She is also part of an ongoing canine cognition
research study at the Comparative Cognition Lab at UCSD. “Her goal is to
further our understanding of the power of connection and importance of empathy,
meeting her dogs where they are and understanding them on their terms to
facilitate trust and promote an environment that supports them as the
incredible creatures they are.”
You can learn more about Alexis Devine and her
experiences with Bunny by listening to this brief interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id6jvQPzEQo
There are various photographs of Bunny and
Alexis in this book, but they don’t reveal the essence of their unique
connection. Most pictures showcase Alexis’s unconventional clothing style and
makeup. There is nothing wrong about an artist marketing her art, but we somehow
miss out the energy of the bond between Alexis and Bunny in those images. On
the other hand, the heartwarming photos of her parents spending time with Bunny
truly reveal the spirit of their relationship:
Books that focus on communication with dogs
are of special interest to me. I experience a deep connection with my own furry
friends. Words can hardly describe the bond that blooms when we care deeply for
them. Every moment with them is a precious gift that I don’t take for granted.
Have fun
with these supplementary links!
https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/dogs-that-saved-lives
