Laddie?

Growing up, I always got annoyed at my pet dog laddie. He was a sheltie and when we first got him we wanted to name him lassie. Since he was a guy, we had to name him laddie instead. He always walked around the house late at night, and his collar jingled as he moved around. Unfortunately, I stayed up late every night, and since my room was near where my dog liked to sleep, I had to hear his annoying collar jingle. Still, it was reassuring because at least I knew my dog was there. Sometimes, he whimpered because he was hungry or needed water, then I had to go fill his food and water bowl to shut him up. That was a hassle.

.

One night like any other, I heard my dog's collar jingle as he moved around the house. I heard him whimper, and I groaned as I got ready to fill his bowl. His collar started to jingle too. Unlike most nights, the jingling intensified, until it sounded like his collar was shaken vigorously. It wasn't deafening but the sound became louder and unsettling. It continued for several minutes. It abruptly stopped.

.

My dogs usual whimpering and jingling collar began again. Relieved I got up to fill his bowl until I noticed something off about the whimpering. It didn't sound like laddie...it sounded human. Freaked out, I locked the door to my room.

The next morning, we found laddie dead, strangled, and a naked man with laddie's dog collar around his neck. Wrists slit. He laid next to laddie's bowl.