Desperate to escape this now claustrophobic strange room, you claw at the door and let out howl after howl in hopes someone will hear you. From somewhere downstairs, you hear someone enter the house. You howl louder to make yourself heard to whoever this person is. Perhaps it's your owner?
You hear footsteps racing up the stairs and into the hallway, a feminine voice crying out, "Oh please God, No! Please don't let it be true!!"
The door flies open and you see a panicked woman standing in the doorway, staring at you in awe. Grateful, you sit on your hind legs and let out a bark of appreciation and continue to pant. The woman falls to her knees, letting out a high pitched scream. You shrink back, the pitch of her lament hurting your sensitive ears. Soon after, she begins to weep uncontrollably.
You can't help but feel sorry for the woman, although you don't understand what has her so upset, you approach and begin to lick her face. She opens her eyes and forcefully grabs onto your head, looking you in the eyes.
"Honey!" she cries out at you, "It's mommy sweetie... Do you remember me?!"
She pulls a hand away from your face and reaches into some strange black bag suspended from her shoulder. After a moment, she produces a picture which she holds out in front of you. The photo shows the woman and a man with a teenager embracing each other during the holiday season. The picture is strangely familiar and sends a tidal wave through your mind.
'Wait... Holiday season? How do I know that?' you ponder.
The woman continues to plead, "This is us honey! This is us at Christmas...!! Do you remember? Please oh God, remember!!!"
'Wait...!' you think for a moment, 'That teenager is me?!?! Oh shit...! It is!'
It all comes back to you. Realizing you had forgotten your humanity, you nod your doggy head and hang it in shame. You can't help but feel bad for allowing yourself to succumb to this... form. You're scared to lose yourself to this form now and you know it won't be hard either considering how quickly you forgot after the change was complete. You whimper in sorrow.
"Honey, please don't be sad," your mother tries to comfort you. "We can beat this... I was so scared though. I saw the news report at my office about the park and how people were changing. Knowing you go there all the time, I raced home. I was afraid of losing you...! They say right now they're trying to develop a cure. They're saying is worst comes to worst, you'll only end up half animal if the vaccination doesn't fully work."
'Only half-animal?' you wonder. 'Does that mean I'd be an anthropomorphic dog? Hey, that sounds cool actually...'
A grin appears on your muzzle as your tail wags in approval. You then use your growls to try to formulate a sentence, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go and get me vaccinated!"
Your mother smiles and hugs you. She then stands and motions for you to follow. As you both head outside and to the car, you can't help but be pleased with the thought of becoming anthropomorphic.
'This might actually turn out to be a good year afterall...' you think to yourself.