Page 25 - Too Smart Dog

COSMOS EXPLAINS THE TOO SMART DOG
The dog in our story was smarter than most of us but not because he could talk and count. Just about everyone who reads this story can do that. No, what makes this dog, “The Too Smart Dog,” is that he did what was in his best self-interest. He did not do what the others wanted him to do if it meant that he might get harmed (or in trouble or make a bad grade). He had the ability to evaluate if what was being asked of him made any sense and what the consequences would be. Unfortunately, many of us do not have that ability.
All too often, you will do something because it sounds like fun or someone told to you to do it or do it just to get even with someone. Our Too Smart Dog would never do something for any of those reasons; particularly if he knew that there was the possibility of getting hurt or in trouble. Our dog is not interested in doing what others want him to do if it is not in his best self-interest.
But another quality that makes this dog special is his ability to see and understand things as they really are and not to be influenced by his own or other’s “Stinky Thinking.” In the story, he knew that the jewels were fake, that no one was home and that the thief was armed. He thought about this information and decided that there was no reason for him to attack the thief.
If the jewels would have been real, would he have acted differently... Possibly. If others had been home and there was a good chance of their being hurt, would he have acted differently... Probably.
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