Smarties... and the dog

I remember quite fondly as children we would get a host of Smarties candies in our Halloween bags (we used pillowcases as children) and be not a little dissapointed because who wanted Smarties when there were all sorts of other fun candies like chocolate bars and snickers and peanut butter cups and butterfingers? The same rule applied to all those boring and stupid things like wax teeth. What the heck am I supossed to do with wax vampire teeth? They went into the garbage, not like you can suck on them like a sucker. Comepletely useless.

But I am onlder now and enjoy the candy as I had only marginally in my youth. So much so that the last time I found myself in the Dollar Tree (should be renamed the most awesomest store) and found a bag of them and quite happily tossed it into the little carrying things stores have in lieu of a cart. They have a similar sweet and sour that one finds in Sweet Tarts, another candy that I do enjoy and one that was always welcome in our Halloween bags. But it appears as if I am not the only in my current family of 2 who enjoys them.

Indeed, on more than on occasion I would return home from work or for lunch to discover the little plastic wrappers that surround the small, round candies. Now, I am not exactly a neat-freak nor am I one who is overly concerned about consistent cleanliness, as my family would heartily agree. As a matter of fact, if one were being truly honest one might even call me a slob (and already my sister's head is bobbing like one of those stupid bobble heads you see in people's cars and, if I know my sister she has a huge shit-eating grin on her face (sorry mom) while she is trying hard not to laugh) and so I am not very surprised to see wrappers or paper towles or kleenex on the floor. To be fair I do get help in this regard as Cooper frequently takes such paper products out of my trash and delights in tearing them up.

But one day I had the bag of candy sitting open upon the couch and I was sitting next to it either reading or watching a movie when my attention is diverted by the sound of a plastic wrapper being manipulated. I paused and heard the crinkle of plastic again, got down on my knees and looked under the coffee table I have stuck in the corner upon which sits the computer my brother lent to me (it's still not turning on) and there lay Cooper with some Smarties in her paws as she was trying to undo the wrapper to eat the candy inside.

Now I had two emotions at this point. The first was the emotion she saw and that was the infuratied COOPER! BAD GIRL! I immediately took the candy away from her and smacked her on the nose when she dared to growl at me. But as I was throwing away her prize I thought it was quite funny that the likes Smarties so much she is willing to sneak in and steal some when my attention is otherwise diverted. And I have to say that I am mightly impressed that she snuck some candy out of the bag that was sitting right next to me so stealthily that I didn't even notice until she was eating it.

And so now, whenever I open a roll of Smarties Cooper is front and center silently begging me for some as if I had, in my hand, her favorite treat. Maybe they are.

But now I have just one question, one I am sure children who have ever gotten Smarties for Halloween have asked... does eating Smarties make her smarter??

Who knows.