You take the dog collar out of the box and look at how formal-looking it is. Definitely the
standard issue model used by those police officers willing to enter the k9-unit and do a
tour of duty as a police dog. You read the letter and realize it might not be too bad. You'd
only be a dog sometimes. But you wouldn't have any control over your shift. Your new
partner, who would also be considered your owner when you are a dog, would have the
say about when he needed you to be his dog and when you could be his human partner.
For a moment you hesitate at the prospect of spending 5 years as a part time police dog. It
would mean a lot of your life would be in the hands of your partner. You know that you
would be living with him or her, that you would be fed by him or her and would have all of
your needs taken care of by him or her. You can’t help but wonder how much control
would still be yours as a dog.
With a sigh and somewhat heavy heart, you slip the collar around your neck and fasten it.
At first you feel like the collar is choking you. But the feeling subsides as you feel your
neck growing thicker and longer as thick, rugged black fur begins to spread across your
entire body. Your whole body begins to itch. Without thinking about it, you stand up on
your tip toes as your toes swell and the long bones of your feet lengthen. You shake off
your shoes and socks, and look down to catch a glimpse of your feet turning into a pair of
hind paws. You unfasten your belt and drop your pants in time to see your legs reforming
into those of a dog’s. And for a moment as you watch them get covered by that thick,
rugged layer of black fur, you wonder just what kind of police dog you are becoming. But
your curiosity is put to the side as the changes happening to you now make it difficult to
stand upright. You awkwardly crouch down on fours with your arms and now paw-like
hands resting on the ground before you. Nervously panting, you watch as your arms are
pulled closer to your body as your chest changes shape and grows a bit longer. Then you
are sitting comfortably on your shaggy haunches.
You then glance at the mirror to see your face with its thick, bushy eyebrows and equally
thick beard and mustache begins to push outward into a muzzle. Your face feels like it’s
being stretched. Your teeth grow and change into a typical dog’s teeth while your tongue
flattens and lengthens out. You begin panting contentedly to keep yourself calm. Your lips
and nose darken till they are black. Your eyesight worsens while your sense of smell and
hearing go beyond what they were capable of doing before. Your eyes become almond
shaped as they are pushed to the sides of your head by your muzzle. And your ears move
up the sides of your shaggy head, growing pointy and docked as they go. But the changes
happening to you are not quite done yet. With a loud snap, your spine straightens and you
sprout a docked tail.
Looking into the mirror, you can see that you have now joined the k9-unit as a huge
Bouvier des Flandres.
A knock on the front door to your home snaps your gaze away from the mirror. And at that
moment you feel a mix of emotions. One part of you, the part of you that still thinks of
yourself as human feels a bit of dread as you know that the person on the other side of the
door is going to be your partner and master. The man or woman who will have control over
your life for the next five years. But the new part of you, the part that is now a large,
shaggy police dog, feels a surge of pleasure and eagerness at the prospect of working
alongside a human. Of being a good police dog and pet to this human. Your panting
quickens and docked tail begins to wag from side to side as you turn away from the mirror
and pad on over to the door. The air filled with the scent of your mixed emotions. Just as
you reach the door, you hear the door unlock and begin to open.