Cause and effect.

I cannot say why,
Stoic by necessity,
Dog is the Master.

The vet said that the dog was stoic. He was not complaning, he was not reacting to pinches. His right rear leg was cold.

I knew he was both stressed and afraid. His heart could not pound any harder. The days of thunderstorms and fireworks that elicited the same panting, heart beat and trying to hide.

I think if he could talk, he would have been less stoic.