"Rex," she called out to her 'kennel mate' who was drinking water at that time. "We need to get out of here." Zap!
He looks over at Jen and runs over to her despite the fact she doesn't look too familiar to him; her scent was the same as his owner though. Jen was comforted by Rex's loving puppy kisses after that unexpected shock. Clearly they were being monitored, but she had seen no camera or microphone in the kennel. That was because microphones were embedded in the floor and the collars had cameras that were very hard to spot.
Rex whimpered along with Jen as she felt the shock and laid her head down on Rex's back. Rex was confused though, she smelled like Jen, but didn't look like her. She even had a tail, like his. Maybe this wasn't Jen after all, or maybe so. To be sure, he began to sniff under her tail. There was still a twinge of Jen, but the plug had been made with that in mind—it gave off the scent of a dog—and so Rex had become convinced that he was dealing with another dog. He barked a few times at the other dog hoping that she would want to play with him.
"I'm so glad you're not hurt," she started, "it's—" she remembered the way she had just been shocked and so abandoned what she was about to say. Instead she said, "I'm sorry, Rex." She wanted to go into more detail, about that day or the dare, but she wasn't free to right then.
The kennel had a rubber ball lying about and Rex wandered off to play with it, to Jen's relief. It further reassured her that Rex hadn't been too hurt, if at all. Rex hadn't understood anything the other dog had vocalized, but her tail told him that the dog was sad. If only because of the slight resemblance to Jen, he went over and tried to cheer her up by offering her the ball to chew on.
When Jen turned to Rex, she couldn't help but gag slightly at the thought of grabbing it in her mouth—since her hands were almost useless for gripping at the time— "no thanks." But Rex had always been persistent, so he stood there after he dropped the ball on the ground. Jen sighed, "you'll keep this up till I take it," she said, more as an explanation than question.
With tremendous disgust—at the notion of both playing with Rex as an equal and putting the same toy in her mouth—she picks up the ball in her mouth and bites it with enough pressure to make it squeak. And that makes Rex jumps at her to get the ball back.
"No! Not yet," she can't help but laugh around the ball in her mouth while trying to run from Rex. At the same time she was still not accustomed to all fours nor was she that in shape so Rex had no problem with catching up. He ponced on her and handily snatched the ball from her mouth. She was about to run after him again—and continue the game—but she suddenly remembers what had just happened. "I'm not a dog! Snap out of it," she silently shouted to herself as she forcibly walked to her bed.
Rex noticed that he was no longer being chased and he drops the ball near the water bowl and goes to her side. Jen turned to him—and he looked equally as saddened as herself—and longed to be able to pet him again. She just said, "It's okay Rex, I'll play with you more later, I'm just tired of everything." At that time, many meters north-east, a man smiled; he was listening—Jen was learning, at a subconscious level, that things go better for her if she goes along—all according to plan.
Jen was becoming a good pup, he figured, and aside from the obvious reinforcements, the facility used more subtle methods too. Rex had been fed earlier that day, but not Jen, so he settled on using that. "Julie?" He added to his radio, "Are you there Julie?" Some barking but finally she answers.
"Sorry, Gabe, I was finishing up with Rocky, formerly Lucas. What's up?"
"I'm guessing he's ready to go home ahead of schedule?"
She looks back at Rocky rapidly lapping up water after taking a leak nearby, "yes, there's none left. I'll tell Ashton and the rest about it."
"Anyway, can you go feed the dogs in kennel 3C? The patient has been playing with her kennel mate."
"Oh yes, the new one, on it." Julie grinned and petted Rocky before heading off towards Jen's and Rex kennel.
He looks at the monitor for Rex's collar and replies, "much appreciated."
Rex barked first before Jenny noticed and starts wagging his tail as Julie approaches with a sack of food. "You're prepared aren't you," she said before petting Rex. "Jenny!" she called out, but that's it. She waited till Rex sat down before pouring food into the bowls—the food bowl wasn't shared unlike the water. "Looks like you doggies need more water too," she said after seeing the water bowl as she turned. Using the hose outside the kennel, she filled the bowl up again, having no doubt that it had been Rex who finished it earlier.
Whether she ate the food now or not, Julie knew Jen would succumb and it would drive the point further that she's better off as a dog. With the help of the tapes they made for all patients. Currently the obvious solution would be to get away, but the tapes remove that, she'll soon remember that she's actually a dog and trying to be human isn't the way to go.
Though, Jenny didn't eat any then after all. Instead she fell asleep because it was late and she refused to go eat. Later in the night though, when Rex was asleep too, Jenny had to pee. Unbeknownst to her, the chip behind her neck was collecting data from local nerves and communicating via the collar, so the surveillance center could know if she was asleep, awake, or in genuine distress.
The tape she heard, given they could identify when she was near-awake, was a much more tame version saying simple platitudes and other statements like "you are a dog" or "owner is always right". She effectively ignored it when she woke up and became falsely assured that at least that aspect wasn't too sophisticated.
Rex, being an actual dog, heard when she got out of bed and got out of his too. He was confused as to why the other dog was wandering around the kennel, but he finally figured it out when she could no longer wait. Jenny just made a small run to a patch of grass and began to pee right there. It was strange for her to be peeing while not sitting, after all it had been almost two decades since she last had to, and as she awkwardly finished while 'her dog' watched her. Rex returned to sleep before she was done though, he was a puppy of course, he wanted sleep anyway.
Jenny's stomach growled as she looked at her food bowl—which somehow Rex had not eaten—and once she finished peeing decided to go ahead. She wanted to wipe after that, but she physically couldn't and wasn't about to try to get Rex to do it. She forced herself to take the first bite of the kibble but after that her hunger overrode her disgust. Without hesitation, she then went to drink half of the water left and headed to her bed.