Chaser, who lived to a respectable 15 years, by dog standards, had the ability to recognize over a thousand nouns by sound and bring the corresponding objects to her owner. This made her known as the smartest dog in the world. It is unknown what Chaser herself thought about this, but at least she did not use her knowledge to complain about life.
The story of Chaser began in 2004 when John Pilley, a former psychiatrist and at that time a retiree, acquired a puppy in South Carolina. The Border Collie is a working dog bred on the border of England and Scotland, which explains its name. Like all collies, these dogs are known for their high intelligence, but no one had seriously assessed its level.
It is unknown whether John Pilley intended to conduct a scientific experiment or was simply entertaining himself in his free time. In any case, he spent three years training his dog, showing her unfamiliar objects and saying their names about 40 times. He then hid the object and asked Chaser to find it and bring it back.
For training, he used 800 stuffed animals, 116 balls, 26 frisbees, and a set of plastic items, ultimately teaching Chaser 1,022 nouns. Thus, it was established that the dog could memorize one new word a day over an extended period. It is unclear from the Independent report whether the result achieved was the maximum or if the experiment was stopped for other reasons.
Chaser passed away on July 29, 2019, at the age of 15. She lived with the wife of her former owner, Sally, and their daughter Robin in Spartanburg, South Carolina. John Pilley passed away at the age of 89.
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