When George and his girlfriend Zoey agreed to watch Rex, their friend Cory's dog, they never expected things to go the way they did. It all started off well enough, and Rex seemed like a perfectly behaved dog. But George started to worry when Rex began displaying weird behavior around Zoey. He would often jump on her and wouldn’t leave her side. So George decided to keep a close eye on his girlfriend.
But what he found out will change their lives forever…
Looking for the truth
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Worried, George had kept a close eye on his girlfriend Zoey for the past several days. There must be some reason for Rex to start acting so strangely around her. He called Cory to ask about the dog's behavior, just in case it was Rex acting out because he missed his owner, but Cory said Rex had never behaved like this. George knew something odd was going on, but he needed proof.
A strange message
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One morning while making breakfast, George saw a message pop up on Zoey’s phone where she'd left it on the kitchen counter. Ignoring the little voice telling him to respect her privacy, he unlocked the phone and goes to her last message. It was to someone he didn’t know; the number wasn't even saved. It read “George can’t know about this. I will tell him when the time is right.” Hearing Zoe coming downstairs, George locked the phone and put it back on the counter. What was going on? What wasn't Zoe telling him?
Calling the police
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As the events of the next few days unfolded, George soon felt like he had all the evidence he needed to feel suspicious. Her sneaking away late at night, his disconnected feelings toward her, the dog's strange habit of jumping on her, and the mysterious text message. He called the police, and they confronted Zoey.
But what was so strange about Rex’s behavior? And why was Zoey acting so suspicious?
Travel Plans
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George's best friend Cory was traveling abroad for a work trip for several weeks and was unable to take his beloved Doberman, Rex, with him. Normally, Cory would leave Rex with a dog sitter, but the sitter he usually used had to cancel last minute due to a family emergency. With no time left to interview a new dog sitter, George became Cory's last hope. He had no other option than to seek his friend's help.
Asking for Help
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As soon as Cory got the call from his dog sitter that she wouldn't be able to come as planned, he made his way to George's house. He explained the situation and practically begged George if he would be able to dogsit Rex for a week or two. Initially, George was hesitant as he wasn't sure how his girlfriend, Zoey, would react to the idea. She'd met Rex a few times, but had said previously that big dogs made her nervous.
Promises of Peace
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Thankfully, partway through the conversation, Zoey arrived home and both George and Cory were able to ask for her input directly. Cory explained that Rex was an old police dog and therefore was very well-trained and well-behaved. Both George and Cory assured Zoey that she didn't need to be worried or frightened of the dog at their house. However, unknown to George, Rex's behavior was not the cause of his girlfriend's worry.
Dropping off the Dog
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It took a little bit of convincing, but Zoey was reassured enough that she agreed to dogsitting Rex while Cory was away on his work trip. They called Cory and told him they would be happy to take Rex this one time. It couldn't become a regular thing though. Cory assured them that it would be the only time he asked and he was very grateful that theyagreed to dogsit Rex. A few days later, he came by to drop off Rex and his stuff.
Temporary Housing
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Even though Rex was a big Doberman with a bit of a scary, intimidating appearance, he was as perfectly behaved as Cory had promised. The dog listened to all the commands George and Zoey gave him, stayed close when they went out for walks whether he was on a leash or not, and was generally very quiet around the house. Rex would even sit, shake, roll, and perform many other tricks at intervals.
Winning over Zoey
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As Rex settled into his temporary new home, George kept hoping that Zoey would come to relax around the dog. Thankfully, it only took a few days for Zoey to stop feeling nervous around Rex and actually began to enjoy having the Doberman around the house. However, she laid down a few ground rules: George would walk Rex every morning, afternoon, and night while she would be in charge of feeding Rex and picking up any of his toys.
Momentary Bliss
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Once Zoey had set out the ground rules, George gladly agreed, enjoying getting out of the house with the dog several times a day. Everything went well for the first few days and the three fell into an easy rhythm. Everyone was happy with how things were going and Rex was also having a great time at George's house. But this didn't last for long. George soon noticed that Rex had started to act very strangely...
Strange Behavior
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After a few days of Rex staying in George's house, the couple began noticing the dog was acting strangely. He began to bark in the middle of the night or come claw at the bedroom door. However, when George tried to take him out into the garden, thinking he might need the bathroom, the dog would refuse to leave the house. Sometimes, he would pace back and forth in front of the couch when Zoey was watching TV or sit and stare at her for a long time. The new behavior began to worry the couple so much that George called Cory about the situation.
Calling Cory
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Confused by Rex's behavior, Cory tried to reassure his friends. It was already stressful for Rex that Cory was away, but this time he didn't even get to stay home with the dogsitter that he already knew. This time he was staying with strangers and was in a new place. That all made sense to George and Zoey. They decided to trust Cory's judgment and after a few more days, Rex began to calm down and started behaving like a normal dog again. The pair were relieved. They had no idea it wouldn't last.
Acting Out
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Once Rex returned to his normal, polite self, the couple began to relax back into the routine they had built with the friendly Doberman. However one morning, Rex entered the couple's bedroom while Zoey was getting ready. Zoey didn't think much of the dog's appearance as he often watched her doing everyday things. She carried on with putting on her socks, only to look up just in time to see Rex do something very strange.
Attack Dog
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With no warning at all, Rex made a low whine in his throat and leaped on top of Zoey. Getting hit by the full weight of the big Doberman caught George's girlfriend by surprise, and she fell backward onto the bed. Immediately, she was pinned in place by his body weight. Helpless and terrified, she began to scream. At the noise, George rushed into the room and couldn't believe his eyes.
Action and Reaction
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Scared for his girlfriend, George rushed in without hesitation even though he knew the situation could potentially be very dangerous. Grabbing Rex by the collar, he pulled the dog off Zoey and pushed him out of the bedroom before closing the door to stop him from getting back in. An absolutely hysterical Zoey demanded that they called Cory to tell him to get back as quickly as possible to collect his dog.
Keeping a Distance
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George, who was very shaken by Rex's actions, tried to call his friend right then, but then remembered that Cory had said he would be out of cell service for a few days. Short of locking the dog outside for the next few days, there wasn't much they could do. Zoey, though frightened, felt bad at the thought of shutting Rex out in the wind and rain when he hadn't actually hurt her. Maybe he was just being playful and didn't know his own strength? However, Zoey decided to keep her distance from Rex, at least for a little while.
Me and My Shadow
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The only problem was that Rex refused to leave her side. Instead, he became very affectionate and always wanted to be with Zoey. Often the dog would lie next to her on the couch and even put his head on her stomach. This behavior began to make George wonder what could be causing Rex to be acting toward Zoey in such a strange manner. He was most bothered about why the dog was only acting that way around his girlfriend.
Canine Cop
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From the conversations he'd had with Cory, George knew that Rex had been a police dog, but had eventually been retired after several years. Cory had adopted Rex after he retired, so all he knew was that the dog worked for the airport police. Now George began to wonder what kind of work Rex had done in his years of working for the police. Had he been just a general security dog or had he been something more specialist, like a drug detection dog?
Background Check
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Still unable to get in touch with Cory, George decided to start with the basics by looking up online what kinds of jobs dogs were used for at airports. He was surprised at the information he began to get about the roles. Then he began looking up cases of other retired police dogs. George couldn't believe what he was reading, and he didn't know when he uttered aloud the statement, "This can't be possible."
Growing Confusion
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The more he researched Rex's strange behavior, the more George realized that it might not be so strange after all. Slowly, the target of his suspicion moved from Rex to Zoey. It was possible he was being paranoid or ridiculous. Most of the warning flags he saw on the internet didn't fit her. The more he thought, the more confused he got. Since he wasn't clear about the situation, he kept his findings to himself but decided to keep an eye on Zoey.
Studying Behavior
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The next day, after hours of gathering information on the internet, George noticed something strange about Zoey. She had definitely started behaving differently. George noticed she was avoiding making eye contact with him and even kept to herself more. Then came the morning when he found the strange message on her phone and his suspicions became more serious.
Secret Rendezvous
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A few days after the strange text message and Zoey beginning to behave differently, she mentioned to George that she needed to go pick something up in the town. Acting casually, George waited until she was out of the house and then decided to follow her. He loaded Rex into the car and followed his girlfriend as she drove to a gas station just outside town and stood in the parking lot for a few minutes.
Watching and Waiting
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Staying in the car with Rex whining in the back seat, George watched, wondering what Zoey was waiting for. He felt slightly guilty to be spying on her like this, but he couldn't help but be concerned by her behavior. All of a sudden, she walked behind the building. Painfully for George, he couldn't see where she went. She was gone for maybe twenty minutes, then got in the car and started driving home.
Assumed Innocent
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Hurrying to get home before she did, George tried to greet Zoey normally when she walked through the door. He didn't want to raise suspicion with his girlfriend. Even though he didn't get anything tangible from trailing Zoey, her action didn't sit right with him. He knew he needed proof of what he thought was going on but since he had no evidence of anything, he decided to remain silent about the situation.
Broken Trust
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But George couldn’t stop thinking about the strange text and the way Zoey had snuck off to the gas station. What possible reason could she have for doing something like that? None of the options were good. Was she cheating on him? Was she smuggling some kind of contraband? He wanted to trust her; after all, she was still the woman he had fallen in love with. But it was difficult to do so when she was sneaking around behind his back. George didn’t know what to believe anymore.
Stonewalling
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George started to wonder if he should just ask Zoey about his worries. Surely it would be better to talk about it and get some answers instead of staying silent and worrying. However, as soon as he tried to broach the subject, she got very nervous and cut him off. This only made George even more suspicious. Why would she shut him down like that? But soon enough he would find out the truth...
Growing Distance
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Zoey started being home less and less. She often wasn't home to feed Rex but always had excuses ready. Rex was no help either. He kept rubbing his head on her legs and jumping on her every time she sat down, quickly making her irritated and nervous around him. Things were quickly getting out of hand. Zoey began to stay out later and later each evening, claiming it was for work.
Background Check
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George wanted to think she was avoiding Rex, but something inside him wasn’t entirely sure about that. Wanting to distract himself and maybe find out more about what Rex’s job had been at the airport, George decided to look up the police officer who Rex had worked with. If there were one person who could tell him the truth about Rex's job and George's suspicions about the dog's behavior around Zoey, it would be the officer.
Top Secret
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However, that turned out to be far more complicated than George had assumed. It turned out that the police force wasn't in the habit of handing out this kind of personal information to just anyone. George understood why, of course, but it was still frustrating to hit yet another dead end in his search for answers about the strange behavior of both the dog and his girlfriend.
Going to the Source
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So, perhaps not entirely thinking it through, George decided to go straight to the source: the airport. He wanted to find any member of airport security and ask if they had heard of a dog named Rex who had worked there some years before. But his fact-finding mission didn’t go exactly as he had planned.
Warning Signs
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As it turned out, asking airport security lots of random questions about a Doberman dog was considered strange behavior. Within less than half an hour, George had been stiffly escorted out of the airport after being warned several times to cease his line of questioning and that no one knew what he was asking. But at this point, George wouldn’t listen. All he could think of was finding out the truth. He needed answers from somewhere.
Anonymous Tip
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Things took a very strange turn later that same day though. George had just got home from being kicked out of the airport, finding Zoey was once again not at home and that Rex had chewed up one of the couch cushions. Just as he was sweeping up the mess, his phone began to ring. The caller ID was anonymous, so George had no idea who the person calling him could be. Nervous but curious, he picked up the phone and was greeted by a low male voice.
Old Friends
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“Are you the guy who is currently looking after my old police dog, Rex?” George hesitated, not sure if he should answer the question. There was something strangely familiar about the voice...he swore one of Zoey's friends sounded similar... “Yes? That's me,” George finally answered. The response was immediate. “Stop with this poking around you're doing. You are in over your head, son.” The call cut off, leaving George staring at his phone in shock.
On Edge
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Who was this strange man? George was more than a little unsettled by the weird, threatening phone call. He couldn't shake the feeling that he recognized the voice. Could it possibly be one of Zoey's friends trying to keep him away? But if so, why? What could Zoey be caught up in? There were so many strange things going on that George felt like he was losing his mind. Would he ever find answers?
Double Standard
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Trying to distract himself, George took Rex out for a long run, hoping to exhaust them both so they could get a good night of sleep. When he got home several hours later, Zoey was waiting for him and she was not happy about the couch. She asked him where he had been all day, but George didn’t want to tell her the whole truth. He said vaguely that he'd been out for a run but Zoey was quick to point out that he hadn't been doing that all day.
Isn't it Ironic
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“How ironic,” thought George, his frustrations with the day rising sharply. “She's getting angry with me for not telling the whole truth when she has been acting so suspiciously lately!” George couldn’t help but feel resentful toward his girlfriend. How dare she treat him like this? The two began to fight, mostly about Rex and the couch cushion, but the bigger issue simmered under the surface. He almost demanded to know why she had gone to the gas station alone when…
On Guard
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Rex started to pace around the room nervously, ears pricked. Then all of a sudden, he began to bark aggressively, flinging himself at the front door. Stopping their fight, Zoey and George looked at each other in shock, knowing that something must be very wrong for Rex to be behaving like this. George ordered Zoey to get upstairs, so she did. It felt like something horrible was about to happen.
Stranger Danger
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Checking the feed of the doorbell camera, George was horrified to see a strange man he'd never seen before, dressed entirely in black, standing outside the front door. The man knocked on the door, demanding to see Zoey. For George, after several very stressful days, this was the final straw. He had to do something about this quickly before it could get even more out of hand.
Call the Cops
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Even with Rex flinging himself at the front door, barking and growling, George decided that he couldn't handle this alone. Since the intimidating man was there in search of Zoey, the safest option seemed to be to call the police. Maybe seeing the police were now involved in whatever was going on behind the scenes of her life would finally get Zoey to tell the truth. Plus, the police would scare off this strange man at the same time.
Hiding Away
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Meanwhile, Zoey was upstairs, hiding in the bedroom and wondering what on earth was going on. She had no idea what George was planning downstairs or who the strange man at the door could be. George had been acting strange lately...could that have something to do with it? Should she have told George the truth? Or was it too late now?
Quiet...Too Quiet
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All of a sudden, the barking and banging on the door went quiet, much to Zoey's surprise. She waited for a little while, waiting to see if George came up the stairs to tell her that everything was okay now. But she didn't hear any footsteps on the stairs and so she decided to come out of hiding and go find out for herself. She tiptoed to the top of the stairs, listening for what was happening downstairs. What she heard shocked her...
Safety Measures
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She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Downstairs, George was talking on the phone to someone. From what she could hear, she assumed he was calling the police because of the strange man knocking on their door. It seemed like a bit of an overreaction to her, but she was glad that George was taking their safety seriously. However, she would soon find out what was actually going on.
Long Arm of the Law
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Peering through the window in search of the strange man who had disappeared, George didn’t notice that his girlfriend was listening to his conversation at the top of the stairs. After just a few minutes, he could hear the sirens approaching from a distance. There was still no sign of the strange man but he had the doorbell camera footage to show the police. He wondered how Zoey would react to the police presence.
Home Visit
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Two officers quickly arrived at George’s house, alerted to the presence of someone trying to apparently break into the property or harass the inhabitants. He let them in and explained the whole situation, saying how the strange man had left their house as soon as he heard the sirens. However, that wasn’t the only reason George had called the police. He told them his other concerns about his girlfriend.
Face the Music
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From upstairs in the bedroom where Rex had come to join her, Zoey heard George calling for her. She hesitated for a moment to go downstairs, enjoying how safe having Rex by her side on the bed made her feel. What if the strange man was still there? But after George had called for her two more times, saying the police were here and wanted to talk to her, she decided to go downstairs. She assumed it was to talk about the intruder, but she was very wrong.
Shocking Twist
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As she got downstairs, Rex following close behind her, Zoey was greeted by two slightly confused-looking police officers. They all looked at her with a strange kind of suspicion on their faces. Starting to feel nervous, she asked George what is going on. Was this about the strange man? When he answered, she couldn't believe what her boyfriend was saying...
Big Reveal
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Rather awkwardly, George explained that he had called the police because of Zoey’s increasingly suspicious behavior. He told her that he had discovered that Rex used to be a drug detection dog at the airport and had apparently been reacting toward Zoey the same way he would if there were drugs around. He then told her that he knew about her strange trip to the gas station and the text he had seen and how those had made him more suspicious. He said he just wanted to know what she was hiding from him.
Hurt and Angry
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Zoey stared at her boyfriend in disbelief, hurt and angry by everything he had just said. How could he have jumped to such massive conclusions based on so little evidence? He thought she was involved with drugs? He had been looking through her phone and following her? And all of this was based on some weird behavior from a dog that wasn't even theirs? Fine, she was going to tell him the truth.
Fact Not Fiction
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Zoey sighed and dropped into a chair, unable to believe that George was making the police be involved in this. “I will tell you the truth, George, because this is insane…” She couldn't hide how hurt she was by his wild accusations and the invasions of her privacy, but still, she sat and told him that she had read an article about a dog who sensed his owner was pregnant. She had started to wonder if that was why Rex had started acting the way he did, so she drove to the gas station to get a pregnancy test.
Bundle of Joy
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To her surprise, her hunch had been correct and she was pregnant. However, she had been scared to tell him since her family had a history of early miscarriages. She had wanted to get past the dangerous stage before she let him know. The energy in the room was awkward as she finished speaking. George felt terrible for his accusations and, although the police congratulated them, it was clear they weren't impressed with George's actions. Rex leaned into Zoey's side and she pet his ears for comfort. She hoped she and George could recover from this mess and everything would turn out alright.