For the last few days, I’ve been letting Ilse drink out of a bowl in the kitchen, filled with water from the refrigerator door. This isn’t where she normally gets water, which is what makes this story impressive.

This morning, I picked up the bowl and put it in the dishwasher, with the intention of replacing it with a clean bowl. I got distracted rinsing other dishes, though, so I forgot to replace it.

Fast-forward to this afternoon. I heard Ilse go in and out of the doggy door in the kitchen several times. (This is how she gets my attention.) When I went downstairs to see what was going on, she was sitting on the kitchen floor, staring up at the cabinet in which we keep the bowls. She looked at me, then looked at the cabinet. Looked at me, looked at the cabinet.

I pulled out a bowl from the cabinet, filled it with fresh water from the fridge, and set it back down while she wagged her tail with delight.