Jared found most of the training to be fairly simple. At first he was taught the basic commands of sit, stay, come, and so forth, all of which he easily obeyed. Most of the other dogs in the training course also had some rudimentary understanding of these commands, but it was clear that Jared was the most intelligent. Most of Randy's fellow officers admitted to being jealous of Jared's master to have such a bright dog.
"Sammy is a smart one, no doubt about it. He surprises me sometimes. I swear he can understand what I'm saying to him after I've had a few beers," Randy admitted at one point.
As the days turned into weeks, Jared began to learn how to identify and track certain scents, how to attack a suspect and keep them under control, even how to scent out bombs or drugs. It was all pretty repetitive, but it was still some of the most interesting things he'd done in the month he'd been a dog.
When Jared realized that he had spent an entire month as a dog, it came as a big surprise to him. It was no longer unusual for him to wake up and see his big dark paws before him, as well as the long snout and nose. Walking on all fours was simply how he got around. Eating from the dog dish was just how it was done (though he greatly enjoyed getting some table scraps from Randy's plate at night). And doing his business outside while others were watching no longer shamed his as much as it had.
The biggest change that Jared noticed was that he was reacting to other dogs much the way they reacted to him. He would sniff at their rears in greeting, getting a handle on their scent, as well as vying for position amongst the other police dogs in the K-9 unit. Naturally, as his training progressed, he had less and less time for such canine rituals, but he still engaged in them on his walks about the neighbourhood.
But it was only a few days after his first month as a German Shepherd that during training, he heard Randy talking with some of the other officers. Jared was sniffing at a bunch of suitcases that had been laid out, trying to find the one with the cocaine. He'd done this before, but then there had been a great deal of the drugs. Now, he knew there was only a little bit, so it was harder to find.
"Hey Randy, we're heading down to Margo's for a bite. Want to come? You can leave Sammy in the kennel."
Margo's was one of the local restaraunts, and apparently a favourite of the cops in town. Randy nodded his head, and patted Jared behind the ears. "Sure. Once Sammy finishes this I'll drop him off and come join you."
Jared didn't mind being called Sammy. It had taken some time getting used to the name, and the feel of the collar about his neck, but now he responded to it as if it were his own. It was his name, he reminded himself, but his dog name. He still thought of himself as Jared though, because he still hoped one day to be human again.
As he pressed his nose to the next suitcase, he caught the sudden spike of the drug, and began to bark loudly, his paws spreading wide before the suitcase. What was there he definitely did not like, it made his whole nose itch like crazy. There was something menacing about it as well, though he did not understand what.
"Good boy, Sammy!" Randy crowed in delight. "I told you he'd find it. All right boy," he patted Sammy on the side, leaning over and attaching the leash to his collar once more, "you can take a break and play with the other dogs for a bit. Let's go, Sammy!"
Jared followed after his master - his partner - down through the corridors until they came to the kennel in the courtyard. Most of the cops left their dogs there when they had to go somewhere off duty. There were several other German Shepherds, Retrievers, and a few Rottweilers in the kennel already. Jared had been there once before, but only for a few minutes. Now he was going to spend a good bit of tie with the other canines while Randy was off at lunch.
Randy undid the leash after Jared stepped inside, the ground smelling of the other canines, the fresh scent of urine arrayed on the wire gates. Some of the dogs looked up at the newcomer, and thne lowered their heads back upon their paws. One of the Rottweilers got up from the other end of the keenl, eyes firm and began to walk towards him.
Jared however took advantage of the moment and sprayed a bit of urine on the side of the gate, marking it as his. This seemed to draw the ire of the Rottweiler even more, and soon enough, the large dog was at his side, pushing against him, tail held up high, ears erect. This was the alpha male in the kennel, and he was challenging Jared, the newcomer.
Though he had engaged in a few minor challenges amongst the other dogs at the training centre, there had always been humans about to monitor and keep the situation from getting out of hand. Here in this kennel, it was dog law. Somehow, Jared was going to have to find a place amongst this pack whether he liked it or not.
His own tail lifted high, and he kept is ears perked. The Rottweiler pressed closer, teeth bared now, growling for him to back down. The rest of the dogs watched this, but did nothing. Jared felt a bit of fear climb into his heart. The dog's fangs were quite large, and he could smell the dominance from the Rottweiler. If Jared wanted to be top dog here, he'd have quite a fight on his paws.
Of course, he could always submit to avoid the fight. But up unil a little over a month ago, he'd been human. And inside he was still human. To submit to a dog, no matter how mean, would be to accept even for a time a lower station in life, didn't it?