"Are you hungry?" I asked, putting the puppy back where I'd found it.
But another caught my eye. In all the dogs I'd seen so far, none had been this color! To reach it, I had to stretch a bit, but I managed. And when I pulled it out, I could tell this one must be a boy. Its parts were not in the same place as Holly's.
His hair was a soft greyish-blue color, with big black spots spread across it. The little dog looked like someone had spilled ink across his back, and he was so fat! I couldn't help but cuddle him, and unlike the first, this one just tried to get closer, wanting to snuggle the same way Holly always did.
"Oh, I see you found the blue merle," Lasin said as he stepped into the pen with me.
"I don't know what that means," I admitted.
"That's what his color is called," he said. "And he's going to be a chunk."
"Is this Holly's brother?"
"Nope." Lansin chuckled. "I bred this litter to get a few more females to breed to Shadow. I'll be selling and training the boys- and probably some of the girls. So, if you decide you need another dog..."
"I can't afford one," I told him.
"I know," he said.
"But I like this one," I admitted, kissing the top of his head. "He cuddles the right way."
"Yeah, he does," Lansin agreed before holding out a cluster of those tube whistles. "And these are for you. I have dozens of them, so make sure your boys all get one, okay?"
"And the commands?"
He waited until I took the whistles, since I only had one free hand, then passed me a paper next. "That's paired with all her verbal commands. It should be easy for you to figure out."
"And I guess I'll have to make up my own for her new commands?"
His head twitched. "You taught her new commands?"
"Yeah, like 'disarm.'"
"What's that one?"
So I explained to him how we'd accidentally realized her exuberance to fetch could be used to take the guns from the Moles. His expression went from curiosity to real interest the longer I talked, until he was nodding with my points.
"Okay, that is something we all need to learn," he said. "I'm going to bet there'll be a meeting later, and if you're willing, I'd like to tell the other dog handlers about it?"
"Sure," I agreed. "It's really easy to teach, and Xav's dog already knows how."
"Perfect," he said, pushing to his feet. "Now, are you going to cuddle that little guy all day, or do you want to see older puppies?"
I looked down at the blue merle dog and had to actually think about it. "Older puppies," I decided, "but maybe I can see this one again?"
"Any time you want," he promised, offering me a hand up. "He needs a name too. You want to give him one?"
"Storm," I said on impulse. "He looks like the clouds when weather comes in, and I have a feeling he'll hit as hard as the wind once he's grown."
"Yeah, he will," Lansin agreed. "Hi, Storm. That's a good name for you, isn't it?"
"You're going to use it?" I asked, hugging the puppy one last time before putting him away.
"Mhm," he said. "Ayla, I have named so many dogs by now that I blank for a good name. But yeah, I think Storm fits him perfectly. However, right now I want to see how hard you laugh when an entire litter of puppies decides you've just become their favorite toy."
"Me too," I decided, pushing to my feet. "And Lansin? Thank you. All of this is amazing."
"Who knows," he said, "one day, maybe you'll have just as many dogs of your own. You'd be good at it, Ayla. I have a feeling you already are. I think giving you Holly may have been one of the best decisions I ever made."
