Puppies: Furry evil geniuses in training? You be the judge.

In 2002 I was living at home with my family. My parents bought a house with a fenced yard and promised my sister and I that we could get a puppy. In a decision that was both sweet and--unbeknownst to us at the time--stupid, somehow one puppy became two. The puppies my parents purchased for us--an Australian Cattle Dog named Levi and an Australian Shepherd named Myrlhin--would teach me a lot about puppies and dogs.

For example, did you know that every puppy is a furry evil genius in training?


This is the face of an evil genius in training.

When Myrl and Levi were puppies they were mostly outdoor dogs. This meant there was a lot of time they weren't supervised, which meant they got into a lot of trouble. I couldn't so much as take a shower without one of them chewing something, knocking something down, pulling up potted plants, breaking planters, digging, or otherwise destroying stuff. (They taught me that dogs belong indoors with their families. And that puppies need lots of supervision in addition to lots and lots of toys to distract them.)

With no one there to guide him but his boredom, Myrl developed a particular taste for chewing up the solar lights in the backyard. One day my father looked out the back door to find Myrl proudly prancing through the yard with yet another solar light in his mouth. "Hey! Put that down!" came the booming voice of my dad. Myrl wandered over to Levi, dropped the solar light on the ground in front of his paws, and ran away as fast as his clumsy legs could carry him.

All Levi could do was muster a confused expression.