Big Luke casually awoke in the crisp morning air to the tickle of grass blades under his belly and the soothing rhythm of his long tail thumping the dew-covered ground behind him. He yawned, stretched, and ...
What the heck?!
Lucas sat upright with a start. "Oh snap, I'm naked," he thought. "Oh snap! I've got a tail!" He looked back at the tan-furred appendage he had been wagging idly just a second ago. "What if someone sees me like this?" Lucas gulped. A shiver of worry and embarrassment hurtled down his spine and made his new tail take cover underneath his bare groin.
"Alright, Bea, I'm going to work. Have a good day and I'll see you tonight, love you!" came a familiar booming voice from inside the house. It was Lucas's dad, on his way out the door for the morning. "Okay, honey, love you too!" said Lucas's mom. Lucas gulped and grabbed his tail with one hand, jerking it back behind himself to try to hide it while his other hand covered his nakedness with little success.
"Dad! It's not what it looks like!" was what Lucas tried to say as his dad walked past at a brisk pace, but all that came out was a mournful doggish whine.
"I know you'll miss me, boy, I'll be home soon. You hold the fort down while we're gone. Don't want any intruders bustin' in the place while we're gone!"
Lucas let go of his anatomy and gaped. "I can't talk anymore," he realized, trying a few more times but only managing some creative barks, whines, and growls. Before he knew it, the other neighborhood dogs were clamoring in response.
"Am I dreaming?" he asked himself. He pinched himself and whimpered. He went over his memories of last night. He waved his tail around and even pinched that too. It was just as real as the rest of him. And his dad's surreal behavior must have been real too.
"I can't believe it," he thought. "My dad thinks I'm a dog, and now I basically am." Sure, he still had his human body, but he was expected to live like a dog, and now he had to communicate like one too. He paced the yard a bit, wondering what the rest of his day would be like.