Free Republic

Speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger can make her dog talk—without barking. The 26-year-old has devised a way for her pup Stella to use human language to communicate her needs. Thanks to Hunger’s ingenuity, the Catahoula/Blue Heeler mix can specify when she is thirsty, when she wants to go outside, and when she is looking for her favorite toy. Hunger documents Stella’s burgeoning skills in short videos and their back-and-forth conversations are nothing short of amazing. So, how does Stella talk? Hunger created an adaptive device that features rows of large, colorful buttons. Each switch corresponds to a different word that describes...

Talking Dog for Sale I won my Corporation’s salesman of the year award in 2000, which included an invitation for my wife and I to join the Company in their annual awards ceremony. This year the awards banquet was in New Orleans. Most of my time was tightly scheduled but one afternoon I had some time to myself and decided to do some shopping. While browsing the many shops in the French Quarter, I spotted an unusual sign in the window of a small family owned curio shop. The sign simply said “Talking Dog for Sell by Owner.” I rang...

should I do? We live out in the country and the dog brought it home a few weeks ago. She says she wants to keep it for decoration and it is now stuck on her fence post. When I take her the paper every day, it creeps me out. Her dog is always leaving deer horns in my yard also, so it must be out there killing deer and breaking their horns off.