As the rain pummeled downward, I prepared for another day of working from home amid an ongoing pandemic. I let my dog, Pudge, out into the yard. His little corgi legs bounded up the stairwell from our basement apartment to do his business, and I went back to making coffee and settling in for work.
Several minutes passed, and I realized Pudge had not returned from the yard. As I got up to poke my head out and call him back, I looked out the window and saw my dog chasing a rat around the bottom of my stairwell with his nose.