The Other Coast by Adrian Raeside for March 11, 2024

Pay in advance!

I had a cockatiel once who flew to me at 2am and woke me up almost a minute before an earthquake!

Only two?

That’s great value but dogs always give more than they get.

That’s my dog, Koko!

Man’s best friend. Only if you is feeds him.

I had a shar pei dog. I had her as a member of the family for two years. She slept in her bed by the side of our bed. One morning about 3 am I woke to her sounding a very deep RRRRUFF! A moment or two later another RRRRUFFF! I asked “Coco? What’s wrong?” About then the ground started shaking and she jumped up on the bed with us.It was the first time she had ever spoken, and the first time she ever got up on the furniture. We had no idea she could talk. Two years not a single bark or whine.

The couch cushions are taking over.

I get tingly extremities around mechanical vibrations that I suspect are a PTSD thing from 2 shakers back in the ‘90s, over 7 points, less than 100 miles away. It teaches that even the solid earth is an iffy assumption. Solid? Results may vary. It’s definitely, objectively real, though.

I didn’t need a dog to sense impending earthquakes when I lived in southern CA. I could almost feel them coming. I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with them anymore. My husband was stationed in Oakland when that last huge one hit. It was awful.

Dogs hear well beyond human range. Ours would react to distant lightning before any thunder would reach us. (I don’t think it was a Pavlov effect from the flashing light because the dogs’ ears would perk up even if they were sleeping with their eyes closed.) Dogs probably hear sounds from the earth beginning to move, too.

Our dog can hear the car when it’s just turned down from the highway. But then he’s into a fit before a storm arrives, so may not be all to the good.