Maggie Dog, my family dog, weighs all of 13 pounds and has maybe three teeth. What I am trying to say is that she is VERY intimidating. When Maggie Dog is pissed or scared or trying to hunt you down and kill you, she bares all three of her teeth and emits a low, guttural growl. It’ll make you shiver in fear.

The other day Wonder Boy and I were driving near the University of Cincinnati campus with Maggie Dog riding shotgun in Wonder Boy’s lap. We pulled up to a stoplight and the car next to us was some big caddy with rap playing and the bass up really high. The driver and his passenger were working hard to look both tough and cool. A couple seconds later I looked over and the two guys have these little boy grins on their faces and I hear the one say to the other, “Look, that dog is smiling at us!”

Poor Maggie Dog. She was trying to scare the shit out of them and tell them who was boss with her three teeth bared and they thought she was smiling.

This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.