Not your average pup: SWFL dog wows with spelling, math skills

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Mellie the Math Dog with her owner, Mark Bello (WINK News)

Dogs can do simple tricks like sit and stay, but Mellie the black lab is not your average pup. She has a talent unlike any other dog: She does math.

“First day I had her and I hadn’t even had a full day yet and I would say, ‘I love you,'” said her owner, Mark Bello, and she would return the sentiment with a bark. “At 4 1/2 months, she started doing flashcards. A couple of words reading and of course the math.”

Yep. Mellie spells, solves equations and plays blackjack too. Bello insists it’s all memory and lots of snacks.

“Every once in a while you get somebody who thinks it’s a dog trick and I’m like, well you know, maybe you like to put $100 bill on this and for some reason there’s no takers,” Bello said.

Where do they go from here? He says the next step is the casino.

“To be able to say you were at a blackjack table with the only animal on the planet that plays blackjack, that’s great marketing,” he said, hoping to multiply her fan club and add a smile to many faces.

Bello said he plans to take Mellie to meet with canine intelligence experts once he feels safe to travel again.

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