I think we don't know our own pets strengths until they are tested. I remember when my Dad, who is a very big guy, was in the yard one day with our dog of the time, a female St. Bernard. The yard was covered in snow and ice, and Dad fell, and thought he would hurt the dog as well as he was falling toward her. (Yes, she was a big dog, but he outweighed her by at least 50 pounds, and was falling from his full 6-foot height). She realized what was happening and just braced herself, so he fell across her back, and she "caught" him so not even his knees hit the hard ice. She didn't even sag, or slip, just held steady on the ice until he recovered, and stood back up. Only then did she look at him as if to say "What was that about?" A small moment, but we had no idea she could hold that much weight, falling with that much force, with almost no effort!

She was also the dog who, as sweet and gentle and non-combative as Saints tend to be, would spring into action if she felt anyone was being threatened. My parents decided to test this once, and my Dad made a fist and aimed it toward my mom. Before it got anywhere near her, his whole hand was encased (and enslimed) in Freckle's mouth, very gently but quite firmly. No fist, even in jest, was gonna get near Mommy! It then became a game for them, but we had no doubt that if real violence entered our home, she would have instantly prevented it!

As for dogs being psychic - I don't know if this counts as physic, but I once met a dog on the subway whose unsuspected, extraordinary abilities came to the fore when his owner (call him Steve) took a job as an overnight caretaker at a facility for mentally handicapped adults. This dog, a Jack Russell terrier, suddenly ran to a patients doorway one night, looking frantically back to Steve. When Steve didn't "get" it, the dog ran back and forth between Steve and the doorway. When Steve finally got up to figure out what his "crazy" dog was up to, he found the patient having an epileptic seizure. One the Jack's behaviour was recognized, Steve learned to react as soon as he did, and soon realized he usually got to the patient BEFORE a seizure began!

[This message has been edited by Karen (edited November 29, 2000).]