Standing Watch

I believe my dog has an imagination. And a memory. Those are the two things you need acutely to be a writer. That and, uh, hands with fingers. And language.
So instead of writing down what is in her head, she must make do with the loop of Shorty-generated stories she tells herself.
Why else would a dog settle down atop a mound of snow, surveying her surroundings with interest and alertness, when all her companions are indoors where it's warm?
She is gathering material. She has been there for more than a half hour, alone, researching.