Her heart broke a little.

She reached into her bag, pulled out a bone she’d gotten for soup stock, and offered it to him cautiously. “Hey there, buddy… you hungry?”

Benny eyed her warily at first, but the smell was too tempting. He stepped forward, gently took the bone, wagged his tail once, and then—oddly—trotted off without eating it.

Annie tilted her head. “Huh. Okay. That’s strange.”

She didn’t think much of it… until the next day.

It happened again on Tuesday. This time, she had just left the bakery with a paper bag of warm rolls when Benny spotted her across the street. He bounded over, tail swinging like a pendulum, clearly remembering her.