Horse hockey! My little dog still sits at the edge of the deck waiting for his mentor to come home, even though we put her down 9 years ago. He also looks for his two proteges, though they’ve been gone for 3 years.
He also pines for the kitty, too.
Baloney and hogwash dogs don’t remember. How else could we train them, FCOL?
I know my dogs are smarter than my snakes and even they seem to have a sense of time and anticipation.
For 8 months, I fed them all on Friday night.
When summer came and I was out on the bike all weekend, I switched their dinner night to Sunday.
Years later, every Friday, without fail, they all get up and roam their enclosures, expecting to be fed.
At first I thought they were just reacting to the smell of their chow being thawed but after several months of *nothing* being thawed and no familiar movements on Friday, it became apparent that they “learned Friday” and somehow managed to “tell time” or “count days”.
I have no idea how but I see it every week.
The snakes I got *after* the initial Friday night schedule get up and start to eagerly roam early Sunday morning, waiting for the evening when they actually do eat.
And snakes are not nearly as smart as dogs.
Your story is very touching.