I have housesitted for many people and their many dogs, and I have therefore earned many insights into the nature of animal/human relationships. For instance, did you know that dogs and cats are remarkably intelligent, versatile creatures, capable of adapting to extreme circumstances?

Of course you did, because everyone knows that. Everyone, that is, but pet owners leaving town. They write entire care manifestos for their animals, with itineraries and menus more prescribed than the Queen of England’s.

So we here at Fool’s Gold decided to test these animals’ mental flexibility, an undertaking apparently FAR more complex than home theater systems, in this week’s New Mexico Mercury and The KC Post.

(Featured image of stereo copyright Michael Hänsch/CC. Gussied-up dogs copyright geckoam/CC.)