Foreword
: This is a sequel to
A Different Kind of Sex Toy
(series page)
, and ties in directly with
Harem Scarum
. There are six chapters of about this length: three in Part 1 and three in Part 2. Part 1 will be posted close together, while Part 2 will be released after
Harem Scarum
is done.
Dog Days of Summer
Part 1: Bitches and Does
Chapter 1: In For a Penny, In For a Pound
Tuesday Evening (July 4)
Dana groaned and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, not wanting to see what new humiliation awaited her. She could hear growling and whining from nearby, most of it sounding canine, and the smell of fearful dogs was rank in her nose. Although her memories of her night as a dog were distorted and patchy, she could recall wandering aimlessly through a wealthy neighborhood, trying to find food but mostly knocking over garbage bins for whatever scraps they held. Her stomach rumbled and she dry-heaved a couple of times, but then her nausea subsided. She had an inexplicably crystal-clear recollection of smelling another bitch in heat from one of the fenced estates she'd eventually strayed into. A large kennel had held perhaps ten or a dozen dogs, all of whom seemed madly excited by her presence, possibly being affected by her pheromones.
In the midst of trying to find a way into the kennel, Dana had felt a stinging pain in her haunch and looked back to see a syringe stuck in her leg, which her human mind assumed was a tranquilizer dart. Human voices were soon talking nearby, and she remembered the feeling of being picked up, but after that was mostly darkness and terror. Before succumbing completely to the induced stupor, she'd been very slightly relieved that she'd been prevented from her attempts to cavort with the other animals, as the probable outcome of that encounter was too horrifying for her to contemplate.
Still, it was clear that she'd been put someplace with other animals nearby, although the smells of her current cohorts were markedly different from the pure-bred group of the night before. Finally daring to open her eyes the tiniest little sliver, Dana saw that she was in a large cage in a plain room, with quite a few other enclosures of various sizes. Hers was set on the concrete floor, although some of the smaller ones appeared to be on shelves or tables. Perhaps a third of them were occupied with what she assumed were other stray dogs. "No!" she thought. "Not 'other' dogs! You're not a fucking dog! At least, not usually." She whimpered in a very canine fashion then, which did little to make her feel better.
Dana's stomach rumbled again, feeling extremely empty, but there was no food in sight. Her eyes landed on a rectangular tray attached to the cage that appeared to hold water, which made her suddenly realize she was also desperately thirsty. She tried for a few seconds to unfasten the clips holding it in place, wanting to pick it up to take a drink, but the wires of her prison prevented her from being able to do so. Reluctantly, but not willing to use her filthy hands to scoop it up, she lowered her head and began slurping up the tepid liquid, feeling disgusted and degraded.
Thirst quenched, Dana examined her cage more closely, hoping to find a way to escape, but it was clearly built to hold a powerful animal and resisted her attempts to damage it. The ceiling was too low to allow her to stand up, and there wasn't much room to turn around in either, although she could accomplish it by contorting herself and rolling. The door to her prison, as well as the other large cages, appeared to be fastened with some kind of padlock. "Well, this is just fucking marvelous," she snarled, slapping her hands on the thick metal strands enclosing her, letting loose with a scream of rage and frustration. Many of the other prisoners began howling in fright or sympathy.
The yell had been slightly cathartic, and it had steeled Dana's resolve not to break down into tears. With nothing better to do, she set about examining herself to see if she'd retained any canine features. She thought she looked fully human again, albeit a very dirty human with more hair than was fashionable. Dana grimaced at noticing that her pubes seemed even thicker and wilder than the night before, and extended further onto her belly and legs than she was accustomed to. The hair on her arms and legs also appeared thicker than usual, and although she'd rarely had armpit hair since puberty started, she thought those seemed extra-bushy as well. Her lip curled when she detected several fine hairs in the vicinity of her nipples and sternum. Wincing with pain as she plucked one, she glared at it like a hated enemy before letting it waft away on the breeze.
Dreary time passed slowly for Dana as she waited to be discovered, wondering how she could possibly explain her situation to whatever person showed up to feed or care for the dogs. She deduced that she'd been picked up by Animal Control, or handed over to them at least, and taken to the pound or some kind of animal shelter. She fingered the collar she was still wearing, wondering if it might have saved her life, since it implied she was an escaped pet rather than a stray or feral dog. Lost in idle thoughts, it took her a little while to notice that the anxiety level of her fellow inmates had spiked, and a few seconds longer to realize that there were footsteps coming down a hallway outside the door to the room. Some of the captive dogs tried to retreat to a corner of their cages, while others pushed against the fronts in eager anticipation; Dana was one of the latter.
Moments later came the sound of keys jangling in a lock, and the door swung wide open. A young woman wearing greenish scrubs wheeled a cart into the room and merrily greeted them, "Hey there, doggies! I bet you're all hungry this morning, aren't you?"
"Please let me out of this cage!" cried Dana, shocking the other woman so badly that she slipped and lost control of the trolley, sending it banging into one of the cages and setting off another round of fearful baying and whining.