Ok, Reid was positive something had to be wrong with this dog. It was wagging its tail, tongue lolling out of its mouth. It was staring at him, wanting him to throw the ball it had set at his feet.

Why Reid had ever agreed to watch his neighbor's dog was beyond him? He knew full well the consequences of the Reid Effect. That was why this dog was broken. It hadn't run away. It hadn't barked at him. It hadn't attacked him.

Nope. It just wanted him to play with it. Reid flipped over its tag so he could read the dog's name.

"Smokey," he read aloud. The dog nudged the ball with his nose. Reid picked it up and gave it a toss, wondering all the while if he had managed to make the dog mentally ill in the twenty minutes he had had it. It was a possibility.

"Hey, Pretty Boy," Reid turned to see Morgan and Clooney approaching. Smokey came trotting back up to Reid, the ball clenched in his jaw. He spotted Morgan and Clooney and started growling, circling Reid protectively.

"Smokey, stop it," Reid said, pulling the ball out of the dog's mouth and throwing it again. Smokey didn't even look to see where his toy had gone. He kept his killer gaze trained on Morgan.

"Whoa, you got yourself a little bodyguard, Kid?" Morgan smiled. But he had stopped advancing, a little wary of the snarling canine. Reid stepped around his protector and walked up to Morgan, showing Smokey that he was a friend. Smokey seemed to understand because he and Clooney immediately started sniffing each other.

"He's not mine." Reid said before Morgan could ask. "I'm watching him for my neighbor. She'll be back tonight, but somebody had to walk him and feed him."

"He likes you," Morgan remarked. "That's certainly a first. I thought dogs growled at you and tried to bite you."

"I think I've broken him already," Reid joked. Morgan chuckled, and they turned to watch the dogs, who had found Smokey's ball. Smokey trotted up to the humans and dropped the ball at Reid's feet. Clooney skidded to a stop beside his new friend, equally excited. Reid launched the ball across the field and watched the dogs bolt for the bouncing object.

After a couple hours of throwing balls, scratching ears, and wagging tails, the friends parted ways. Reid was a little loath to take Smokey back, but he knew his neighbor would be home soon. He had enjoyed playing with the black lab, who had defied all the laws of nature and actually seemed to like him.

The next time Reid walked past the pet store, his steps slowed the slightest bit. He even allowed himself to peer into a cage that was displayed outside. A golden retreiver occupied the cage, and it looked up when it saw him.

And it started barking its head off.