As the days grow short and the evenings make you understand why Kohl’s sells so many light fleece zip-ups, I’m reminded that my dog, Rosie — at some point in this life or a past one — was horribly wronged by a squirrel.

Right now in the great Midwest, the squirrels are out in force, gathering acorns and whatever else squirrels gather. They could be rounding up tiny canned goods or maybe light fleece zip-ups from much smaller Kohl’s outlets. There’s really no way for modern wildlife biologist to know. Squirrels are a sneaky sort.