Hope has been free of the Amish puppy mill for two years this month.

In spite of being in an Amish puppy mill for five years, Hope is an intelligent dog.

This month we celebrate her being out of the mill for two years, and today she surprised me.

We feed the furkids twice a day, with Windy being fed in a crate and Hope and Jake eating out of separate dishes.

While I was on the couch with the newspaper, I noticed Windy had stopped eating.

“Are you done?” I said. Windy wiggled.

Hope jumped and came within 3 feet of me. She yipped and wiggled. She knew I was going to let Windy out of the crate. When Windy is out, Hope goes and checks her bowl for leftovers.

No, Hope doesn’t understand sentences. Like any dog she knows certain words. But she has observed my body language and inflections and responded like a dog who lives in a house with a family.

This was an early Christmas present.