He was old enough that stairs were already hard for him. Slow steps. Long pauses. Sometimes his owner had to carry him halfway up. That morning, they made it to the top step together — and then his owner fainted. The dog froze for a second, then started barking nonstop. When no one came, he did something unexpected. He grabbed a sock in his mouth, dragged it down the stairs, and dropped it at the neighbor’s door. Barked again. Louder this time. The neighbor followed him back upstairs. His owner