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Canine prodigies can develop vocabularies like toddlers
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Basket (left) and Raffy, both border collies, know the names of many toys.
PHOTOS: ELLE BAUMGARTEL-AUSTIN/NYTIMES, STEFANIE LINDEMANN/NYTIMES
Emily Anthes
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NEW YORK – Basket the border collie seems to have a way with words. The seven-year-old dog, who resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, knows the names of at least 150 toys – froggy, crayon box and Pop-Tart, among them – and can retrieve them on command.
Basket built her vocabulary thanks to the dedicated efforts of one of her owners, Ms Elle Baumgartel-Austin. She began the language lessons when Basket was a puppy.
