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Black grandpa in a knit cap and cardigan sits in a lawn chair at sunset beside an empty chair and a black Labrador. 27 / 33

Grandpa Walter Set Out Two Lawn Chairs for Sunset. Duke Chose Neither One.

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The sun is sliding down behind the trees, washing the backyard in a warm, hazy gold. Two folding lawn chairs sit side by side on the grass, one occupied and one conspicuously empty. Grandpa Walter has settled into his in a charcoal knit cap, glasses, and a shawl-collar cardigan, gazing out toward the light with a calm, faraway expression. Duke has ignored the spare chair entirely. Instead, the black Lab sits upright on the grass right beside Walter's knee, brown leather collar glinting, nose lifted toward the glowing horizon as if he, too, is taking in the view. Garden pots, a coiled hose, a stack of old boards, and a weathered fence frame the peaceful scene.

Dogs experience a sunset a little differently than we do. Their eyes have fewer types of color-sensing cells, so scientists believe they see a narrower range of colors, mostly in shades of blue and yellow, and reds and oranges likely look more muted to them. On the other hand, dogs generally see better than people in dim light and are very good at detecting motion, which is handy at dusk when wildlife starts moving. That is one reason many dogs become especially alert in the evening. Combine those eyes with a powerful nose, and an evening in the yard is full of information we humans never notice.

Whatever colors Duke sees in that sky, he is clearly content to share it. The empty chair can wait; the best seat is always right next to Walter.

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