Dr. John W. Pilley, professor emeritus of psychology who died June 17, 2018, once said that “dogs are smarter than we think,” and his famous border collie, Chaser, was a testament to this. Chaser, who has been dubbed “the smartest dog in the world,” could identify 1,022 nouns and three verbs. She died in July at the age of 15.
Named for her love of chasing anything that moves, Chaser was a gift from Pilley’s wife, Sally. Chaser’s daily routine was mainly play because Pilley discovered that play reinforces a dog’s learning more effectively than food and treats. For three years, Pilley trained Chaser for four to five hours a day. He assigned names to objects, saying the name more than 40 times, hiding the object and letting Chaser go find it. Ultimately, she was able to identify 800 stuffed toys, 26 Frisbees, 116 balls and an assortment of plastic toys. She also understood simple sentences and could differentiate between nouns and verbs.
Chaser had been featured on National Geographic, CBS and Scientific America, and was even featured on “60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper,” which was shot on Wofford’s campus. The New York Times ran her obituary on July 27, 2019. She also was the subject of Pilley’s book, “Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words.”
In honor of Chaser, the Hub City Animal Project in Spartanburg has donated funds for the creation of a bronze statue of Chaser to be placed outside of the Children’s Museum of the Upstate. Pilley’s footprints, also in bronze, will be placed right beside Chaser’s statue. In addition, a portion of the street near the museum will be renamed, Chaser the Border Collie Boulevard. The college bell will toll for Chaser, along with all other members of the Wofford family who have died during the past year, on Friday, Nov. 1, All Saints’ Day.
By Kate Thomas