"he asked , looking down at a small , medium and large canine , all of whom were still wagging their tails , but were now sitting in front of him , one with his mouth hanging open and his tongue draped off to the side as he waited for whatever was going to happen next . '' they are sort of your birthday present , '' she said softly . damon 's eyes snapped up to hers , then back to the _ ..." What is the word in the blank space (_)? The answer is
dogs