On May 28 [1987], the Bay Area Skeptics held one of its most interesting
monthly meetings to date, as we hosted in the Campbell Library a
very intelligent Dalmatian named Sunny who has a reputation as
something of a whiz in mathematics. The dog, or more precisely
the dog's owner, was seeking the prize of the Skeptics' $11,000
Challenge, and this evening was to be a preliminary
demonstration, to be followed up by a rigorously-controlled test,
if the demonstration was successful. Sunny and his owner, Jim
Todd, are becoming local celebrities because of Sunny's reputed
penchant for mathematics and knowledge of languages, as well as
his reportedly excellent recall of an alleged past life. They
have appeared together on television, in schools, and in library
programs, where Sunny has astounded one and all with his
abilities. Not only does Sunny apparently know how to do
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, barking out
the answers to problems written on flash cards, but he can also
calculate square roots, cube roots, and simultaneous algebraic
equations in two unknowns. As if this were not impressive enough,
Sunny will even respond to math questions in Spanish, Portugese,
or Yiddish.
I arrived early for the session, to find that a number of Jim Todd's friends were already on hand, setting up video cameras, lights, and microphones, to record the expected miracle. Of course, the skeptics set up cameras and monitors of their own. I have seen press conferences at which there were fewer cameras and microphones! The first hint we had that there may be any difficulties for Sunny came when Don Henvick returned from Todd's house, which was nearby. He had gone there to get to know the dog a little, so Sunny might be more at ease during the demonstration. Don had witnessed an impressive demonstration of Sunny's skills. He reported, however, that while Sunny normally will bark out the answer to any practically problem so long as it is between one and ten, today he was having problems barking out 1 and 2, and also 9 or 10. Therefore, we were requested to keep the answers to all problems between 3 and 8.
Sunny and Jim soon arrived, both looking relaxed and confident. A big, handsome young Dalmatian, Sunny proved to be friendly as well as clever. (Indeed, I suspect that Sunny is probably one of the most intelligent dogs I have ever seen, although his skills probably incline more towards psychology than math.) The agenda agreed to was that for the first fifteen minutes, Jim Todd could demonstrate Sunny's skills in any way he wanted, then for the next fifteen minutes Don would attempt to test Sunny's knowledge. Further tests would be performed if Sunny was successful.
Jim, an easy-going and likeable retiree, put on an impressive
show of Sunny's skills. Holding up cards with a number written on
each, he would ask "how much is 3 and 4?". Sunny would bark out
the correct amount. Problems like this were repeated several
times, usually with success. Sunny also did subtraction, square
and cube roots, and even solved a pair of simultaneous algebraic
equations. Occasionally, the dog would get the answer wrong,
sometimes by barking hesitantly or quietly, or with unclear
"enunciation". Jim would berate him, and Sunny would usually get
the correct answer the second time.
Then came Don Henvick's turn to question Sunny. He held up cards, exactly as Jim did, but held them so that only the dog, and a video camera, could see what was written on the face. Shuffling the cards, even he was unaware of what each one said, to eliminate the possibility of unconscious cueing. Sunny's math abilities deteriorated immediately. With Jim standing behind him, Don held up a card, and asked Sunny what number it was. Sunny barked eight times. Don then turned the card toward the audience. It had a five on it. Sunny barked eleven times for the next card; it was a three. The positions were rearranged, this time with Sunny between Jim and Don; a moveable blackboard screened Jim's face from the dog. Strangely, Sunny seemed to not even be paying any attention to Don and the cards; he kept turning to face Jim. The dog's arithmetic skills were now failing badly: 7 plus 3 made 9; 4 plus 5 made 13. It became evident that Sunny was simply barking randomly, unsure of what he was supposed to do. An attempt at this point to answer math questions posed in Spanish was likewise a failure. Dos y dos became siete when it should have been cuatro.
Jim was becoming visibly upset. He began explaining how Sunny was getting tired, that it was past Sunny's normal bedtime. His sincerity was painfully obvious- Jim really expected Sunny to be able to answer Don correctly. Jim then began to explain to us about Sunny's recall of his past life, and his ability to answer questions about it. Sunny would bark three times to indicate yes, and two times for no. In this manner it was not only learned that Sunny had been a human in his previous incarnation, but the name under which he lived was likewise determined: in his previous life, the dog was Harry Houdini.
Ever ready when needed with a bit of magicians' trivia, Bob Steiner quickly scribbled something on a paper, and handed it to Jim. Bob explained that if the dog had been Houdini in his past life, and could answer questions about that life, then he should certainly remember his mother's maiden name. Steiner asked if there was anyone in the audience of about 60 who did not know his or her own mother's maiden name; there was not. Therefore, it would seem reasonable that Sunny, or Houdini, could answer the question correctly. Steiner had written five names on the paper. As it is well-known that Houdini's family was Jewish, Bob chose five common Jewish names. Jim seemed a little distressed, but bravely posed the question to Sunny. Jim obviously did not know the answer, so cuing, conscious or otherwise, could not take place. The fact that Jim pressed on at this point proves his sincerity beyond any reasonable doubt, for if he did not think that Sunny could correctly answer the question, he would have found an excuse not to continue.
The questioning halted after four names. Houdini, or Sunny, had answered "yes" to three of the four names, and the only one he had answered "no" to turned out to be the correct one! Jim was extremely distressed by this time. He noted again how late it was getting, and that it was past Sunny's bedtime. He and the dog then left, before the meeting was over. The remaining time, about forty-five minutes, was given over to a discussion led by Bob Steiner on the "Clever Hans" phenomenon, and related issues.
Exactly how Sunny receives Jim's involuntary cues was never precisely determined. Apparently Sunny has been trained so that whenever someone holds up a card and speaks to him, he begins barking. While "accumulating" the required number of barks, Jim stands very stiffly; his labored breathing is often clearly audible. Probably a subtle change in his posture and breathing pattern tells the dog to stop. Sometimes Jim breaks his stance as soon as the required number of barks are received, pulling the card down, an obvious sign to the dog. Sunny apparently cannot correctly answer questions except when his owner knows the answer. In any case, not long after Jim left, his friends packed up their tripods and cameras, and quietly departed, too. Of those people remaining, not one was convinced that Sunny actually understood the questions posed to him, and could answer them.
