"Tony is such a good boy! Yes he is!"
Tony was lying back on the grass rolling his eyes back and panting under David's constant patting on his sides and belly as they both took a break from the extensive physical activity they'd experienced together. Tony's name tag jingled as his body vibrated with joy and excitement. Occasionally one of his legs would kick a little, and he had to be careful not to accidentally scratch David using the claws on that foot, but other than that he just zoned out and let himself completely enjoy the praise and affection.
Normally, he would be getting yelled at by his manager by now. He'd be sweaty from flipping burgers and exhausted from being badgered by other workers and customers. Now, here he was getting massaged and told about what what a good boy he was by half stranger just for being able to do things like bringing back a ball, running up and down over a ramp, catching a frisby, and all sorts of other things that made him feel more like a kid on a playground than a grown-up starting a new job. He could already feel himself starting to get hard down there from all the physical attention he was currently getting, but he didn't mind, and neither did David. Tony was naked to the world and he loved it! Tony had traded his human responsibilities for dog ones, and he couldn't have imagined a more satisfying exchange!
David stepped back a bit and pulled out a little tiny cookie out of a snack bag, holding the small confection in a place where Tony could clearly see it. Tony looked directly at it and felt his mouth water. It was just a cheap store-bought crunchy, and it smelled like a gourmet dessert. He reached for it while licking his lips, but David stuck out a finger and said, "Wait," causing Tony to look at him longingly. "Sit," said David, and Tony carefully made sure he was in a really good sitting position. "Give me your paw," David asked, causing Tony to look down at one of his clawed hands and reach it toward David again. David put the cookie down into his hand. Tony scarfed it down so quickly that he had very nearly swallowed it whole, but he could still taste it on his tongue and smelled it on his own breath. It may have been sugar free but it had been irresistible. "Good boy!" David smiled and patted his head. This was already becoming Tony's favorite day ever!
"All right boy, I've gotta take a quick bathroom break, how about you wait for me by that door over there for a few minutes, and then we'll practice some simple commands. Okay?" David asked.
"Whatever you say, David, you're the boss!" Tony answered back with a wide grin. He didn't know how much longer it would be before he could only bark the equivalent of that, and he didn't care. He was ready to wait on David hand and foot for the rest of the day if necessary, especially now that he knew that his nose was correct about David having FOOD. Tony thought David was great and enjoyed being told that he was being a good boy. It was also a major relief that there didn't seem to be any hard feelings about David having already had to, um, well, clean up Tony's poop.
Tony followed David to the door of the back door largest building of the facility, where David told him to stay. Tony stood as still as he could, without a moment's hesitation. David brought out a leash, tied it around a small post, and hooked it onto Tony's collar. Tony watched the fully clothed man prance into the building awkwardly and turn down the hallway toward the first floor restroom. David was somewhat younger than Tony and already had was probably a well paying job, and he would likely outlive Tony by decades. But David still had to get dressed every morning, pay taxes, budget for food and housing, try to save for retirement, and even do his business in a toilet. Tony was free to do almost anything out here to except run away and take off his leash like a bad boy. Tony decided to find out if there were any interesting scents on the post he was tied to. He still remembered what it felt like to sniff at the training yard tree and instantly know about everyone else who had peed there. This post, it turned out, didn't smell like very much except for, well, a post.
"Hm, that means I get to be the first to mark this one. Cool," Tony thought with a grin before taking a little sort of bathroom break of his own right where he stood. Tony sniffed again and felt a giddy satisfaction that his waiting area smelled like him now. David stepped out of the building with freshly washed hands to find Tony marking his post and smiled. Step one was always to start bonding with the prospective canines and get them used to getting trained like a dog would. Step two was to start teaching them commands they would need to expect on the police force. Mrs. Bedlow had told him that Tony would be an easy one to work with, and so far she was right.
"Hey, buddy, let's get you back out to the field and we'll have some more fun, whatdyasay Tony?"
David undid the leash and Tony practically ran back into the wide training yard ahead of him, wagging his tiny little stub tail the whole way, not even remotely aware of how wide and dark his nose had gotten since he went to bed last night.