Daniel scratched the dog behind its ears...

Daniel scratched the dog behind its ears. "Good dog," he said, meaning it. He took a step back. The forest grew hushed as the dog's wiry legs tensed, coiled springs grown tight. The dog leapt, and Daniel watched as it climbed, twenty feet, thirty feet, sixty feet, ninety feet. He stretched his hand, fingers splayed, toward it, as it rose into the pale arch of the heavens.