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Pixie lay in a basket by the fire where a dozen brown and white puppies wriggled around her. She had surprised us by getting pregnant very soon after moving back in with us, and the puppies were just under four-weeks-old now. We couldn’t have been more thrilled, and Bandit couldn’t have been a better dad. He seemed to have endless patience as they climbed all over him, these wriggling furballs of energy. Literally everything excited them. Sully kneeled down beside me to pet the nearest pup, one with a big brown patch over one eye and a butt that never quit shaking. “Have you got names for them yet?” I pointed at the one in his hand while Bandit said. “That’s Patch” “Because of his eye, obviously,” I filled in. Hearing the name, Patch suddenly squirmed out of his hands and bolted for Bandit, but his little paws couldn’t quite get purchase on the new floor and he skidded all the way to Bandit who he bumped into, coming to a sudden stop. Shaking his head, he looked up at Bandit with intelligent eyes, then sat, waiting for further instructions. Sully and I shared a look. They were too young to know their names or much more than that, but it definitely seemed that Patch had known his name and was now waiting for Bandit to begin a game or something. I pointed at a different puppy, one with a white shape on his rump. “That one’s Star.” Bandit said. The minute the iPad said his name, Star’s head shot up, then he too bounded over to sit beside his brother. Sully’s mouth fell open. “No way…. They’re too young to behave like this.” Feeling a wave of excitement, I watched as Bandit finished calling his kids. “Panda, Ace, Champ…” As he called their names, each puppy jumped to attention, coming to sit in a neat row in front of Bandit until all twelve of them were in a line in front of him. I snapped a look at Bandit. “Did you know about this? Did you know they were super smart too?” He snorted out of his nose, laughing at our shock. Sully and I looked at each other, the same startled expression in our eyes. “But…” was all Sully could say. I at least managed two whole words before the full ramifications of an entire household of super smart dogs could hit me. “Oh boy.
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