As I am sitting at my desk, the radio playing softly in the background, and only the faint sound of my chinchillas exploring in their cage to otherwise distract me, I suddenly hear such a strange sound emanating from behind me that I whirl around in my chair. It almost sounded like a wolf’s howl, and having just recently listened to J.K. Rowling’s accounts of werewolves and the like, my imagination cranks out horrible images and dire situations as I scan the small room for the origin of the disturbance. My first reasonable thought is that one of my family members, who were still absent when I last checked, may have returned and tried to play a trick on me. But then I stare down at the seemingly innocent face of Cheddar, who is lounging on my carpet right behind my chair. His one visible eyeball swivels to stare at me, as if he knows that there is no sufficient reason to lift his head. I smile. It’s normally my other dog, Abby, who makes the strange and un-dog-like noises. Apparently, Cheddar likes to try out his own sound effects once in a while. And meanwhile, I’ve wasted three minutes staring around my room looking for werewolves.
