There's no might about it, Ross, not only a better job but far less bullshit and far fewer lies/broken promises.

As for Annabelle, she should be made Speaker.

In my opinion animals have not devolved to the point where they know how to lie.

Annabelle died quite quite a few years back, so unless we're going for Speaker for the Dead...

Uvah, animals are quite adept at lying.  I had a dog that would shit in the house as revenge for leaving him alone, and then hide the evidence in an attempt to avoid the spanking.  He'd drag around things like rugs, newspapers, covering his mess up before you got back.  The little bastard was a real pain in the ass but when it was too cold to leave him outside, it was too cold.

My dad had a dog that was even smarter when he was a kid, he'd clean the tops off with his paws, looking for a good sized carrot, yank the sucker out, clean it, eat it, and dispose of the stem.  The kids got blamed for it since it was so obviously a person doing it, no one suspected the dog until he was caught in the act.

Don't mistake being vindictive for lying. I have a cat that does the same thing if he doesn't get his own way. In time they get over it.

Hiding the evidence of the crime dude, subterfuge.

And that's why they'd make better politicians... like you could count on it when they said: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

More to the point, they wouldn't con the world into invading Iraq [or anywhere else for that matter] over non-existent weapons of mass destruction.

There ya go again, blaming the dog for your failure to keep him properly amused.  Yup, it was your fault he had to resort to playing practical jokes to amuse himself.  He hid those turds deliberately, orright, but not to avoid a "spanking".  No, he did it in the hope you'd step on one and feel the squelch of it spreading under-foot.  You never saw or heard it, but he was laughing like Muttley on the inside.

starkers

reply 4

Oh, and Cauldyth, do you hold the copyright for the selfie that is your avatar?

I'd be proud to be a monkey.  Apes are overrated.

psychoak

reply 20

Hiding the evidence of the crime dude, subterfuge.

Separation anxiety can manifest itself in different ways. It isn't a deliberate lie, like saying no I did not when, in fact, I did. The dog must have experienced 'the spanking' and is trying to avoid it. Animals learn by rote. A repeated episode is not forgotten and the response is a primal one. Avoid the hurt.

actually, some studies have shown several species of simians do practice deception / misdirection - especially when hiding food.  Are deception and/or misdirection forms of lying?