When I look into the windshield of my plane, car, truck or boat, I see a machine that reflects the vision of its builders. I see the creativeness of its creator. As an engineer I understand how the engineer envisioned, designed and built that machine as well as the creative and artistic expression that occurred.  I appreciate the caring that went into his/her efforts and the human emotions of hope, desire and expression that embodied their efforts. Just as I can appreciate the Mona Lisa, rock n’ roll and a good play at the Flat Rock Playhouse, I can appreciate the creation of the machine.

But these machines do not have a soul and yes that includes the Subaru in the commercial. My animal family members do have souls. They are living, thinking and loving beings. After living with animals more than 60 years, there are things you learn about them. You know when their “souls” are awakened, thrive and become a part of their lives.

A couple of weeks of ago we experienced the difference between animal and machine. After an exceptional day of intense rain that flooded and saturated the ground and drainage areas, we went through a routine of checking the house for leaks. This type of rain reveals areas of a house that can leak. We found nothing and were thankful. However, Jenny went downstairs and began barking once about every 15 seconds. We thought she and Callie, the feline queen of the house, were playing.  However, the barking was not normal for her. When I went downstairs to check I found that she was guarding a coiled copperhead snake (about 3 feet long) in the middle of my home office. It clearly had been flushed out of hibernation and found its way into our house. It was in an office where I work many hours of the day in bare feet and would have been shortly after arriving home.

Needless to say, she gave me a look that seemed to say “where have you been?” In the interest of brevity, the short story is that I caught the snake and disposed of it outdoors. The real story is that, even as a young puppy, she realized the danger, kept the snake coiled and sitting still so I could find it and alerted us of the danger. My plane would not have done this nor would a Subaru.