And they say dogs don't know what we say, HA!

Around our Aussie Ike (RIP) - our "Einstein" dog - we'd have to "talk over his head" a lot. The motorhome became the "large white recreational vehicle" and the pontoon was the "Aquatic recreational vehicle". "Walk" became "an amble around the neighborhood". "Leash" became a "canine restraint line". He knew hundreds of words and names - he'd listen in on phone conversations. He understood things that were happening on TV, even cartoons: if a child was being threatened by an animal, Ike would stand in front of the TV with hackles up, growling and barking at it! And he loved to watch TV - especially Animal Planet (of course). If Ed was flipping through the channels and passed an animal show, Ike's head would whip around and glare at the remote, as if to say "Hey! I wanted to watch that!"

He was scary-smart. Even though I spend the same amount of time, effort, and communication with my current dogs, (and they're plenty smart) they don't exhibit that same level of genius. I'm afraid he was one-of-a-kind.