From Chris Mandeville
I am blind. My guide dogs sleeps in her own bed in our bedroom.
Some time ago my wife and I bought wardrobes with mirror doors. On the first
day that these were in the bedroom, the dog seemed quite startled by them. She
clearly recognised another dog but was puzzled by the lack of scent
(17 June, p 30).
She was also puzzled by the image of my wife, who was standing behind her,
and stared at this intently for some time. My wife waved her fingers and the
dog’s head immediately whipped round as if to confirm that this was what had
caused the change in the image. She then turned sideways and stretched, without
taking her eyes from the image. This seemed to satisfy her and she settled down
to sleep.
For several months after this, she sat before the mirror every night at
bedtime and would not get into her bed until my wife had come up behind her and
waggled her fingers at the mirror. I am not sure what this says about her sense
of self, but it seemed clear that she could recognise the reflection of my wife,
and understood that what my wife did affected what happened in the
reflection.
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Cromer, Norfolk
