"The dog is barking," I said to my husband, looking at the new puppy barking at my feet.

"I can hear that," he said.

"What do you think he's trying to tell us? It sounds urgent."

"He has to go out?" suggested my husband.

"No, he was just out."

"He's hungry?"

"No, he just ate."

"I don't know, honey," said my husband. "I don't speak dog."

"Maybe Timmy is stuck in a well," I said.

"Who's Timmy?"

"Never mind," I said. "Whatever it is, he seems very insistent about it. Maybe he's telling us a storm is coming."

"You think the dog is a meteorologist?" my husband asked.

"No," I replied. "But dogs have sharper senses than we do."

"Then why can't he tell how bad he smells?" he asked.

"To him, he smells good," I said. "Maybe he's trying to warn us of a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion."

"Or a giant asteroid careening toward Earth?" wondered my husband.

"Exactly."

"I don't think so," he said.

"I think we should pay attention. The vet said our dog is a genius."

"How do you figure?" he said.

"Well, he can sit, come, down, stay, wait and drop it, and he's only 10 weeks old."

"The vet?"

"NO, the dog!"

"That seems pretty typical for a dog," said my husband. "If he were a genius, I would think he could do much more advanced tricks. Does he speak any other languages? Can he do calculus? Can he get out of an escape room?"

"He speaks dog, he's never tried calculus and he hasn't been locked in an escape room."

"OK," said my husband. "Well, that's one more language than I speak, and I can't get out of an escape room either, so I guess I'm not a genius."

"He could be trying to warn us of an intruder," I said.

"He's a golden retriever," said my husband. "If there is an intruder, he will lick them to death."

"Maybe he's just excited that we would be getting company."

"Well, that would make one of us," said my husband. "You know, the dog is a genius, he speaks an exotic language and he likes company. He sounds like a much better husband than me."

"If he could pick up the dry cleaning, you'd be out of a job," I replied.

"He's only 10 weeks," said my husband. "He's not old enough to drive."

"Meanwhile, did you notice the dog stopped barking?" I asked.

"I guess he was just bored."

"No, he actually was trying to tell us something."

"How do you know?" he wondered.

I pointed. "He peed on the floor."

Tracy Beckerman is the author of the Amazon Bestseller "Barking at the Moon: A Story of Life, Love, and Kibble," available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble online! You can visit her at www.tracybeckerman.com.

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