As Karen came back into the dining room she heard her father ask, "So Daniel why did you come to Moon Lake and become a weredog?"
Daniel smiled before saying, "Well you know that I've always been one to protect people from bullies and you know that I saw being a police officer as the ideal job for me." When Moe nodded he continued, "Well I went through all the training and stuff and did graduate from the police academy though I was bottom of my class. Anyway after I graduated I had a hard time finding a job as a police officer because I was bottom of my class. I did find one though the department was downsized shortly after and being the newest hire I was one of the ones cut. A few days later I received an offer to come to Moon Lake since one of the officers here was retiring. When we arrived we were told that one of us had to become a werebeast. Well it was a shock to us as I'm sure you can imagine. We had debated leaving but then I learned that if we tried to leave before one of us became a were that we would both be forced to become a were without any say in what were we became."
"But I thought you said no one was forced to become a were," Moe said suspiciously.
"Well we don't want to force anybody to become a were but the town laws are what they are," Daniel said sighing. "However I have never heard of anyone being forced to be a were by the town laws. It may have happened when the town was founded but if it did no one talks about it."
"Wait just a minute," Nichole said looking angry. "Are you saying that someone could be forced to become a were outside of the town laws?"
Daniel nodded his head and said, "Sometimes there is a rogue were that will transform a normal without their consent. We had one just recently but these rogues tend to be rare and this is the first one here since I came."
"Ok so back to the second part of my question," Moe said.
"Well most of the police force here are weredogs," Daniel said with a slight smile. "There are a couple normals on the force and some other weres but it's mostly weredogs. It just made sense to me to become a weredog myself and Francine agreed to become one with me. Even though we were transformed by the same weredog, who is a Basset Hound by the way, I became a Bloodhound and Francine became a Golden Retriever. We discovered that Peter is a Bloodhound when he first transformed."
"How did you become different dog?" Karen asked looking a little confused like the rest of her family.
"Well we're not really sure how it happens," Daniel said frowning a bit. "There are a couple of theories though. The more scientific one is that the virus reacts to differences in a person's DNA which creates the differing breeds of weredogs, werecats, werefoxes, werehorses, and others that have different breeds. The more spiritual one is that the animal spirit guides what were and breed someone becomes. I personally believe in the scientific theory but there are those that swear they have seen their were selves in dreams or meditations before they became weres."
"So does that mean if I dream about being a werepig that I'll become one?" Karen asked a bit horrified.
Daniel smiled before saying, "I don't believe dreams can predict the future so I would say no. Even if dreams can somehow predict the future it's only a possible future that can change based on our decisions." He was silent for a moment evidentially thinking something over before saying, "I wonder if Yvette Smith believed dreams told the future. Might explain why she was so fixated on William Anderson."
"That's the rogue you were talking about?" Moe asked.
Daniel nodded and said, "She is though you don't have to worry about her. After what happened she's being kept under guard at all times." He quickly changed the subject from Yvette by looking at Nichole and saying, "Now I believe you said that weres were mindless beasts bent on consuming human flesh."
"That's what all the stories about werewolves say," Nichole said looking a bit uncomfortable.
Daniel nodded and said, "That is the popular view of weres. It may surprise you to know that it was based on the fear people had of wolves in general a long time ago, and some still to this day, and some cannibals claiming to become mindless beasts in an attempt to avoid punishment for their crimes playing on the fear and ignorance of wolves."
"I see," Nichole said slowly. She still didn't want any member of her family giving up their humanity but if what Daniel said was true then maybe weres weren't as bad as she first thought. It was true that Samantha twist hadn't tried to eat them when she had transformed and the Brooks hadn't tried to eat them either. She knew that wolves very rarely attacked humans except when they were extremely hungry or defending their territory and pack. She had a lot to mull over.