“Chase me,” she said as she fired her Cute Ray directly at me. “Think about how much fun we’ll have,” she whispered as she did a small hop with her front legs, flicked her head to one side, and tossed the rock straight up.

My resistance was crumbling, but then a small noise came from the front yard. It was Betty’s new friend the postal carrier. Betty raced around to the front and engaged in a prolonged greeting session with this friend. I was left dumped in the backyard. All I could do was to mope and kick the rock under the deck.