Called Out in Class

When I take Morey to class, he usually just curls up and goes to sleep and you don’t even notice he is there. Sometimes he does snore or stretch, but other than reactions to that, his presence is usually ignored (at least after the first week). Because we head to class right after work, Morey has been a little more antsy during my summer classes. It is too hot to let him play ball during the day, so I don’t have the option of exercising him before class. He is still very good, but because he is more awake and interactive, there have been several amusing incidents with Morey and the reactions people have had during class. For example, last week during class, Morey sneezed. Everyone automatically said “Bless you” and then simultaneously burst out laughing as they realized that it had been Morey. 

In a different class, Morey stretched and grunted at one point during the professor’s lecture. The professor turned sharply and looked at me and then went back to lecturing. A second later he looked back at me and said “That was the dog making that noise, wasn’t it?” I nodded and he replied “I was trying to figure out why and how someone would make that noise. Now it makes sense that it was the dog!” We all laughed and I mentally made a note to warn professors at the start of the semester that if they hear strange noises coming from my desk area to blame it on the dog and not me! Especially if it is snoring or groaning! : )

The best story happened tonight in class. This professor has included Morey in our discussion and always asks him if he has a point to make or a question to ask when Morey makes a noise. Tonight he was telling a story /jokeabout a psychiatrist who had a client confide in him that he had done all these deviant behaviors. After listing several deviant things he had done, the client said he had abused a dog. “Well,” the psychiatrist said, “Abusing a dog is not a good thing, but in context that doesn’t sound like the worse thing”. At that moment, Morey stood up and yawned vocally-sounding exactly like he was reacting to the story the professor was sharing. The timing was too perfect and the entire class burst out laughing. The professor looked at Morey and said “I wasn’t trying to offend you with this story, and I’m sorry if hearing about dog abuse upset you.”  Throughout the rest of the evening whenever he would ask if we had any questions, he would turn to Morey and say, “But I don’t want to hear a word out of you.” in a joking way.

Summer classes are pretty intense; 5 hours a week for 9 weeks. Many of the students have the same schedule as me and are in the same room for 2.5 hours four nights in a row. Morey has added an element of humor to class, which has helped relieve some of the stress and motonony of the semester for both the students and the professors. And as reward for another job well done after class he gets to engage in one of his favorite activities; playing ball.