A Pixie has Stolen My Heart

We have a little Maltipoo puppy. We named her Pixie Woo. I think she imprinted on me. When we were at the breeders to pick out a dog, she stood up on her hid legs and and begged me to pick her up. I did. She rode home on my lap and by the time we got home, I was her human.

My wife tells me that Pixie cries for half an hour every morning after I leave for work. When I get home in the evening, she barks with glee and dances around on her hind legs until I pick her up and give her a hug.

And the affection goes both ways. I have never had a pet that I loved like her. She is such a smart girl. She has a large vocabulary and it’s growing all the time. She knows steak, chicken, and fish. She knows carrot and greenie. She loves carrots and greenies.

My wife plays a game with her where she gets her nose while saying “Boop!” She decided to be the “booper” and jumps up and tags our nose when we are playing the game.

When I call my wife to make plans for dinner, she asks our dogs what they want to eat. She goes through a list of possibilities. When she says something that they want, they high-five her.

I have spent a good part of my life studying computer science with the goal of creating artificial intelligence. Part of the challenge is coming up with a test for determining whether a program is exhibiting intelligence behavior or is just doing what it has been programmed to do. By all criteria I can think of both my dogs are extremely intelligent. But Pixie more so than Belle our older Maltipoo. One thing is for sure, I am lucky to be the human of such an intelligent, affectionate little dog.


Sweet dreams, don’t forget to tell the ones you love that you love them, and most important of all, be kind.