“This morning she told me all about Portuguese Water Dogs and how they were originally bred to work on ships,” reported Gabi’s mom. “And don’t get her started on Bullmastiffs. She says she can’t pick a favorite but I think it’s the mastiffs.”

Ms. Thule went on to announce that her daughter just checked out a big book that lists all the dog breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club from the library. She reports that most of the pages with full-page pictures of dogs are already bookmarked.

“I love dogs and I love learning about dogs,” explained Gabi. “I’ve been working on memorizing all the different groups but it’s hard because there are so many: herding, hound, terrier, sporting, you know.”

“She’s certainly done the research but I’m still not ready to get her a puppy yet,” said Ms. Thule.