The next morning Jeff woke feeling wrong. When he was human, Jeff usually slept on his back, but that proved to be an awkward and somewhat uncomfortable position for a canine body. He eventually had rolled over and fallen asleep on his belly, but apparently he had rolled back on his back during the night.
Dean was snoring. One of his bare feet stuck out from his bedding, and hung off his bed. Jeff padded over on his paws, and instinctively sniffed his master's foot. His wet nose touched the sole of Dean's foot, and he moved in his bed, but remained asleep.
Jeff jumped back with a start. He was less concerned about waking Dean than the fact that he was now thinking of Dean as his master. It hadn't even been 24 hours yet. He had promised no mental adjustment, but Jeff now had a dog brain. Maybe dogs are hardwired to have a master. One of those science documentaries had suggested it was a genetic attribute inbred by man's domestication of canines. He sighed in relief, his memory was intact. He still had a human vocabulary. That same documentary had said most dogs were limited to understanding a bit over 100 different words. The best could learn around 200. As he thought, Jeff wondered whether all his memories were in his dog brain or whether many or most were stored in the Chronovac 's cloud memory?
Jeff's bladder was full. He thought about using the bathroom, but he was a dog now. He should get used to going outside. Dean's bedroom door was ajar, so Jeff nosed it open. He trotted down to the backdoor. The Chronovac had thoughtfully added a doggy door when it altered Jeff's reality.
Jeff trotted out into the backyard. He was about to do his business when Ms. Elkins' cat hissed at him. Jeff should have ignored it, but his instincts kicked in. That cat had invaded his territory. He barked and took off after it.
The catcalls and barking woke Dean.
He sat up, and said, "Jeff?"
Then he went to the window in time to see Elkins' cat leap over a hedge with Alsatian Jeff in hot pursuit. Dean pulled on some clothes, and bolted out of the house.
By the time, Dean caught up with Jeff, so had animal control.
Jeff had been loaded into the back of a white panel truck, and locked in a metal cage.
"Hey, that's my dog!" Dean shouted.
The dogcatcher sighed, "Sorry, no license. I gotta take him in."
"But I just got him yesterday! I was going to bring him in for his shots and license later this week," Dean explained.
Jeff looked at him quizzically. Had Dean planned to do that? Why hadn't the Chronovac automatically done it? Why hadn't it occurred to Jeff that he needed a license?
"Well, okay, then. I won't give you a ticket. But right your info on this pad, so I can make sure the office knows it's your dog, and that you're coming in today or tomorrow to claim him. Be sure to bring cash for the licensing and vaccinations."
Dean hurriedly scrawled his name, address, phone and Jeff's name and description as a German Shepherd 3 years old.
"How much do I need to bring?"
"Lemee look it up. If he's neutered, vaccinations and license will be $200. You're lucky, this month is Spay or Neuter Your Pet Month, so neutering is free with vaccinations."
"What if he's not neutered?"
"Then? Oh, here it is. Stud dog licenses are $200 more than neutered dog licenses."
Jeff saw the balking look on Dean's face. For the want of $200, Dean wouldn't really have him neutered, would he?
Jeff curled up in the cage, and looked at his crotch.