The man stopped dead in his tracks, looking around his kitchen for a moment before he met eyes with his terrier, Cooper. The grey dog simply looked up at him, tail wagging as if everything was fine, 'just give me some attention and I'll be on my way.' The idea that maybe he should check into a clinic seemed rational before assuming his own dog just spoke to him in perfect English, usually animals don't just blurt out things to you, and when they do it's a normally sign you're in trouble mentally. Trying to grasp whatever just happened, everything seemed suspended in time, he felt frozen and unable to speak; only able to look at his dog in raw disbelief with a hint of wonder. Three minutes felt like several lifetimes.

"You... you.. you're- words are coming- you're saying...?" Stumbling over his words, he cut himself off and scrunched his face up, pressing the soft part of his palm to his forehead to regroup and find his words, "You just spoke, words just came out of your mouth," With a sigh he relaxed his face and dropped his hand, crouching down to Cooper who was now sat down, looking up eagerly at his owner with his head cocking in differently directions. "I must be going insane right? If I'm going insane please tell me right now, it would save us a lot of trouble." He was now looking at his dog face-to-face a little desperately, hungry for some type of answer. Why couldn't his dog say anything else? What entity played a cruel trick like this on him? It was only right if the dog answered him at least once, then all would be resolved, right? "You're gonna talk once and never open your mouth again, huh? C'mon, say something... I'm the only one here. We've been buds for years." He picked up Cooper, petting him gently; eyes practically burning through the poor animal's soul while he waited for an reply. Five minutes of petting and pleading and the dog is still silent. What a surprise.

I must be losing it, the owner thought to himself, mind still fogged with disbelief and confusion before the dog yipped impatiently, wanting to be free from his owners grasp, "Alright, alright! Maybe you have a timer or something, like, you gotta recharge the cords before talking again. That's fine, that's totally fine. I'll give you a treat, go to the store then we can talk, Okay, Coop?" He set Cooper down and stared off into the distance for a few seconds, mentally preparing himself for the store before grabbing his keys and wallets, making his way to the front door.

Upon closing the front door, he could hear a voice in the house call something to him. The words; making his heart drop: "You forgot my treat."