___ on the back

Once upon a time, there was a mischievous but lovable golden retriever named Max. One day, Max’s owner took him out for a walk in the park, and as they were playing fetch, Max got a little too excited and accidentally bumped into a duck, causing it to fly into the air quacking furiously.

Max’s owner scolded him and told him to go sit in the corner and think about what he had done. As Max sat there with his head hung low, he noticed a crossword puzzle sitting on the coffee table. Feeling guilty and wanting to make it up to his owner, Max decided to try and solve the puzzle.

One of the clues that stumped Max was “___ on the back“. He had no idea what the answer could be until he remembered his owner’s name was Pat, and sometimes he would pat him on the back as a sign of affection.

Excited about his discovery, Max barked and wagged his tail, eager to show his owner he could help solve the puzzle. From that day on, Max and his owner would work on the crossword puzzles together, with Max feeling proud to be a helpful assistant to his owner. And whenever he received a pat on the back, he would always think of the crossword puzzle that brought them together.