Hi Cathryn:

True, but that's not enough to conclude that earthquake prediction may be possible on the basis that a dog has a willow stem caught in it's mouth. The link between the willow stem and the earthquake is too tenuous to be taken seriously. Until willow stems are chemically analyzed and proven to contain an aspirin-like chemical, and until it can be established that dog's choose to eat willow stems as they eat grass when they feel sick, and until it can be shown that dogs eat willow stems most frequently when earthquakes are imminent, it is an implausible idea.

Don