Today we do not present evidence that answers the question, "Do dogs dream?"
Oh, no, that's too easy. We're way beyond that basic question at Readlarrypowell.com.
Today, with the help of a dog named Daisy, we offer slight evidence that will answer the question, "Do dogs dream in color?"
And that is why Daisy is in the spotlight for our regular weekend feature, "Let Sleeping Dog's Lie & Napping Cats Nap."
Daisy, in her slumber, was submitted for our weekend feature by her human, Stacy Lynch. Daisy's a miniature schnauzer mix who bunks in Allen, Texas, with Stacy, husband Seth and toy poodle Cookie.
"I just had to submit this photo of my dog Daisy. She's nine years old and until fairly recently, we swear she never slept," Stacy says. "Even if it looked like she was nodding off for a nap, as soon as she'd see us or hear something she'd wake right up.
"I managed to get the camera and get this picture taken of her while she was napping on our bed, in the warm sunlight. This is now my favorite picture of her!"
Now, as you look at the first photo, you will see that it is black and white. Stacy explains, "I shot this one in color, and then converted it to black and white after the fact. I would have loved to have done it originally in B&W, but didn’t have that setting on my camera!"
This is Daisy sleeping in the family bed, i.e., as Stacy says, "The one I share with my husband, Seth, and our toy poodle, Cookie." And, obviously Daisy allows them to share it with her.
Stacy says, "Daisy's actually black, white and gray herself....It's really funny -- Daisy turned 9 back in November and, I swear, she had been awake for the whole nine years. We never saw her sleeping. If she started drifting off and caught us looking at her, her eyes would pop back open and that would be that. Lately, though, I suppose age and the writer's strike are causing her to conk out sooner in the evening and more often during the day.
"That's why this is such a special picture for me -- because it proves my dog does, in fact, sleep!"
Now, Stacy also sent the color version of the photo and I've cropped it and included it here.
As you can see, Daisy is asleep and there's just the slightest hint of color creeping into her sweet, pointy ears -- they've been kissed by the sun and the warmth of her dreams has illuminated them. That's the romantic's view, anyway. So, while the evidence may be slim, I'm prepared to announce that the hint of color in Daisy's ears is just nearly conclusive proof that dogs dream in color and every now and then some of that color slips out and illuminates their ears.
Dogs -- entertaining in ways that we humans have never dreamed.
(To nominate your dog, cat, ferret, rabbit, turtle, duck, pigeon or, perhaps, insectoid deadbeat in-law for a spot in "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap," send the info and a photo to [email protected]. Remember, at www.readlarrypowell.com, we're proud to celebrate the mighty dozers. Sleep is precious to us -- we are, after all, insomniacs and, as such, we respect that which we cannot have. Like, for example, I respect sleep and I respect banana cream pie. One I can't get and the other I'd better not have.)