Frank ran tight circles around the coffee table, whimpering and whining as he tried to make sense of the sudden, dramatic change that had left him in his dog's body and, apparently, his dog now the occupant of his former human form.
When he got the hang of walking on four paws, he rushed to the kitchen, intending to use his phone to call 9-1-1 or something else for help. He could glimpse the large bowl made of mosaic tiles for holding wallet, keys, phone and other personal items once he arrived home, but the container saw in the center of his kitchen table. He whined, suddenly seeing the phone as essential to solving his problem.
"Rex," he barked. "Get in here and fucking help me!"
Rex arrived, but having his former human body loom overhead didn't help Frank's emotional turmoil. "How can I help, Master?" The dog-turned-man made odd contortions to form the words using his now human mouth, lips, tongue and other physical equipment.
"Fuck, we have to change back," Frank barked. "How in the fuck did this happen?"
"Don't upset yourself, Master," Rex urged.
"How can I not be fucking upset," Frank barked, all the while hoping that any moment he might wake up from the nightmare. "I am a fucking dog!"
Rex appeared to recoil from the loud barks, which continued to echo off the walls of the small duplex apartment. When he saw that his master wasn't thinking calmly, Rex put two fingers in his mouth in imitation of his master's actions on many an occasion and produced a sharp whistle.
Frank's jaw dropped open at the shock of finding himself responding almost instantly to the whistle. "Sit, Master," Rex urged.
Frank sat. He didn't necessarily want to sit, especially from a command from his own dog, but his body responded too quickly for him to prevent it.
"Do you know why we have switched bodies, Master?"
Frank fought to keep his temper in check. "No," he admitted, but he produced, at best, a goofy "Arf!"
"I don't have the answer, either," Rex said. "We must stay calm and find out the reason."
Rex surprised himself with his ability to reason calmly in what was unquestionably a crisis. The more he took command of the situation, however, he began to realize that the crisis might be more acutely experienced by his master.
"Call someone," Frank barked. "Use my phone and call for help."
"Who should I call, Master?"
Frank started to bark, but closed his mouth. What options did he have? He weighed all of them and didn't find any to his liking.
"Maybe it will wear off," he barked. "This is fucking great. I'm a dog!"
Rex flinched slightly, but found the courage to muster a quick retort. "It's really not that hard, Master."
Had his own dog just thrown attitude at him? He started to challenge Rex, but a knock at the door forestalled his reply.
"Frank, you in there?" A man's voice said. "I forgot my key."
"Fuck!" Frank barked. He had forgotten he had invited Xander for dinner.
Rex walked toward the door.
"What are you doing?" Frank barked. He didn't want his new boyfriend to see him like this! They had only been dating for about a month.
"He could help us," Rex reasoned.
"No! Do you hear me! Under no conditions are you to tell Xander what has happened?" Frank barked rapidly. "Do you hear me?"
"I hear you, Master," Rex said and opened the door.