Roxie goes to HAHVAHD!

Roxie, Chief Blogger

Who’da thunk it?  A dog like myself, of no special pedigree! And I’m going to Harvard, that’s Hahvahd for all you Boston Brahmins out there.

My person read an article in the Boston Globe about a lab there in the Psychology department–of all places!  It’s called the Canine Cognition Lab (that must be short for Labrador). Apparently, there are a bunch of smart humans out there studying how us dogs think.  Fascinating topic if you ask me. And one of those places is Harvard.  And the article mentioned that the Harvard lab was looking for dogs to study and learn from (if you ask me, humans could certainly afford to learn from us dogs!)

Here’s how they put it:

If you’ve had a dog, or interacted with one for a long period of time, you’ve had the experience of connecting, of getting to know what another animal is like, inside. We are interested in learning more about your dog’s feelings and thoughts, both because dogs are inherently interesting and because dogs can be studied to better understand the human mind. In the Canine Cognition Lab, we run non-invasive behavioral experiments to better understand how your dog solves problems, recognizes patterns of sound, reflects on what is known and unknown, and works out what you, an odd species with only two legs, believes, desires, and intends. By participating in our experiments, you will not only learn more about your own dog, but will also learn about how you and your family can run your own experiments at home.

Well, I don’t know about experiments at home!  I’m no lab rat after all.  And you know what they say: “Don’t try this at home!”  But if humans can learn a thing of two from us, that would be a good thing. If you ask me, people have a lot to learn!

So anyway, my person applied to have me, Roxie, go to Harvard to show them what a smart dog I am.  You have to be a smart dog to get into Harvard. Right?  And lo and begone, I’m accepted.

Here’s what they said in the invitation:

Roxie is eligible for our studies, and we’d love to have your participation.

Well, I’ll be right over.  Actually,  I have to hold my horse, ’cause I’m heading in to the Ivy League this coming Wednesday, the 30th, for my 15 minutes of fame.  I’m really eager and I’ll report on my experience when I’m done.

In the meantime, here’s a video about the labradory.

Video- Canine Cognition Lab- Harvard University