(M to Tibetan Mastiff)

Candace waved her dog closer, letting out a laugh at how madly his tail wagged. He’d always been so excited to see her, probably because he was her special baby boy. Well. Technically, he’d been a man, once… But that was then, and this was now.

“Wroof! Gruff!” Andy excitedly pawed at his owner, ignorant of the memories flitting through her head.

He was so excitable, maybe even moreso than the first day she’d made him…

xXx

“Hey Mom, what’s the emergency?” Andy wiped his hand against his shaved head, looking around their house. “I saw Dad and Arianna’s cars outside. This isn’t a surprise party, is it?”

“In the kitchen!” Candace’s voice called out to him.

He sighed, moving to take a step into the house before catching himself just in time. She liked things shoes-off, right. He kicked his boots from his feet, wiggling his toes and quietly hoping that it would make the house feel at least a little cooler.

For some reason, it was way hotter than he was used to.

Probably nothing to worry about, he thought with a small shrug. His socks padded gently against the wooden floor as he followed his mother’s voice, and a wonderful smell too.

Andy’s nose ran a little and he sniffed wetly, but at least he wasn’t sweating anymore. “Hey, is something wrong with the thermostat? It’s super hot.”

Candace turned towards him with a smile and a plate of cookies. They were numbered ‘1’ to ‘5’ and each of them was shaped almost like a dog’s bone. Clever, probably something to do with the old mascot costume he used to wear.

“It’s probably the oven, I’ve been baking up a storm,” she said with a smile. She set the cookies beside a glass of milk, pushing them both towards her son. “Though I’m surprised. You used to go out every summer dressed as a Newfoundland.”

“Tibetan Mastiff, mom. We were the Tibetan Terrors, remember? And the suit wasn’t all that hot.” He popped the cookie marked with a ‘1’ into his mouth, crunching down on it with a surprised delight. “Oh wow, butter cookies? I didn’t know you could bake these.”

“Well, I happened to get some fresh butter lately, cream too. It seemed like a nice treat since you’ve been away for so long.” Candace reached over and tousled her son’s short hair.

Andy laughed, waving her hand away and shaking his bangs from his eyes. “Yeah? Well, thanks.” He ate another one, which had a bit of a salty aftertaste to it. It was good though, even if it left him a little thirsty. “That milk fresh too?”

“Very.” Candace smiled as though he’d made some sort of joke. She was weird like that sometimes, but he’d gotten used to it.

“So, what’s the deal with calling me out here?” The next cookie stuck to the roof of his mouth a little, like peanut butter. He smacked his tongue against it, but whatever it was clung fast. As he waited for his mother to reply, he worked his mouth, eyes crossing slightly at his dark nose.

“Well, there’s been a mix-up at work. And you know how you’re on my insurance?”

“Yeah, whuh abow it?” Andy couldn’t quite get his mouth clear. He let his tongue fall past his lips, bringing the glass up and pouring a little milk into his mouth. That seemed to do the trick, but a little spilled onto the table.

Well, nothing he couldn’t clean up. He dropped his head to the wood, playing his rough tongue against it for a moment before slurping it back into his lips. It didn’t quite fit right; though. He felt his cheeks bulge with the mass of his own tongue, and for a moment wondered if something was wrong.

Candace tousled at his hair again; then at his ears, tugging them so they’d thump against his cheeks like he liked. He could hear their heavy weight just as well as he could feel the hairs on his ears bumping against his tongue-bulged cheeks.

“Thtawp it, mah!” He laughed, tongue spilling from his mouth, accompanied by a small wave of thick drool. “Aw, thorry.” He moved to clean up the table, but was distracted as she passed the ‘4’ cookie to him.

Before he knew what he was doing, he’d taken it into his hands, popped it past his tongue, and chewed it down with a satisfied smile. He slurped his tongue back into his snout, but a bit of drool still clung to his cheeks. He shook them from side to side, feeling them flap in the air, thumping against his fuzzy chin. Weird, his tongue must really have stretched them. Better let it hang out for good measure.

“Haaah… Hhuuhhuh…” He panted for a moment, wondering what they’d been talking about. He scooted forward a little, letting his tail push his waistband down just enough so that he could let it slink between his legs.

“So, that Newfoundland-”

“Tibetawn mawthutff!” Andy interrupted. His cry was loud enough that it gave him a bit of the aftertaste of that last delicious bacony cookie. Were they numbered that way for any real reason? Did he have them out of order? One, two, … number after t… number after the number after one? He tried to concentrate.

“Eyes up here!” Candace clicked her fingers, and Andy looked up to her eagerly. “I’d like you to think of the difference between them. I mean, what makes the Tibetan Mastiff so different?”

The seams along Andy’s clothes creaked and popped as he started to grow in size—though even without his body bulging, they’d still be stretched tight thanks to the massive coat of fur he was sprouting. His jowls felt like they were growing just a little more, and his long, soft mane of fur needed a quick shake to loosen up.

“Oh, I see!” Candace laughed, even though she hadn’t given Andy enough time to answer her question. “That’s my good boy.”

Those two words… They stuck in his head as she popped the last meaty treat in his mouth. This one was really good. He curled his twitching fingers, drumming them against the table even as the sound grew louder and louder. Of course, his pads were like that. It was hard to keep such large, heavy paws quiet.

His feet were another matter. He could feel his socks getting tighter, too tight even. With a small huff, he padded them against the ground, whining quietly in discomfort. His big, brown eyes looked up to Candace for a clue as to what to do.

“Down, silly! On the floor.”

He did as asked, but still felt so tight. His clothes had a few tears in them, but he’d gotten them from a good place… Even if he couldn’t quite remember where. Andy looked up to her, whining again. Then the pressure released itself, as with a wave of her hand his clothes vanished.

“Owd wrooo’oo dat?” Andy asked, surprised. He looked to his fuzzy backside, which was bare as the day he and his litter were born. He wagged his tail excitedly, seeing its heavy fur swish from side to side.

“The same way I’m turning you into a dog, honey.” Candace’s words were sweet, but they didn’t make sense. After all, he was…

Andy blinked. He looked back at his heavy, furry body. He looked down to his enormous paws, giving one a solid thump against the floor for good measure. His dense fur tickled his paw a little with the motion. Then he howled and tried to run.

Unfortunately, his mind was still too human to move properly. He tried to move his legs in ways they could no longer bend, and the motion only sent him spilling onto his side, bumping his muzzle against one of the table legs.

“Hey, careful! Ooh, though that could be fun. What if I made you a clumsy puppy, the kind of lovable klutz that all the neighbors love to pet?”

Andy looked up to his mother in horror as she made some strange motion with one of her hands. Wisps of mist seemed to form in the air before his head, drifting towards her hand, where they coalesced into a solid form shaped like a milk bone and scented like one too.

He made to stand on his paws, but slipped and fell with an embarrassing plop on his face. There was no way… She couldn’t have just-

“Ah, and it looks like you’re working a little bit of it out… So, I’ll be nice and I’ll just remove those nasty thoughts of that girlfriend of yours. Don’t worry, it was never going to work out between you. I mean, did you see her nose piercing? Complete town bicycle.”

Again, wisps of something drifted from his head, though this time he didn’t know why. He was single, right? Or… Was he? He was sure there was someone he’d met at college, who he was planning on marrying after he’d gotten a good… Job? What kind of work was he supposed to do anyways? What did he even study?

He looked up and saw more milk bones in his mother’s hand. His belly rumbled. But… How was she making them? Didn’t that make her some kind of Reality Shifter? But she was his owner… mother… owner? He trusted her!

“Oh, my sweet boy, you look so worried. Don’t worry, Mommy’s going to take great care of you. See, because of Mommy’s mean old work, I wouldn’t be able to keep you on my insurance anymore. But pet insurance is awful cheap, and I even get a discount the more I have!”

The more… “Duhuhhuhaddduh? Awwreeeuhhnuh?” Was this why their metal boxes were outside? Outside… Outside??? Outside??? He felt his tail start to thump excitedly.

Candace beamed. “That’s right! You’ll be taking such good care of them, as our farm’s new guard dog. Oh, you might be a bit wobbly on your feet when you’re lazing around, but we all know when push comes to shove, you’ll scare any nasty predators away.”

Well, she was right about that. He was a Tibetan Mastiff after all, the best, biggest kind of… No, he wasn’t! He was a person, he was sure of it. That’s why he was on her insoor… Inshu… Whatever it was that made her do this!

“It’s totally perfect. And besides, it was getting a bit old being a modern-day working woman. I mean, not that it wasn’t fun, I really love you all. But I think I’d like to try to be the friendly farmer, you know? So, I’ve found a perfect solution that will keep you all with me, so our family can stay happy!”

She sounded so proud of herself that Andy couldn’t help but nod in agreement. Or maybe it was that tugging feeling deep in his skull, pulling his head forward. A whole lot of mist was forming in front of him, and his eyes fluttered as he felt… Dumber. A lot dumber.

It couldn’t be that that fog was actually… His IQ? I… Q? O? Letters were becoming abstract the more he thought about them, which only confirmed his fear.

“Muh-muh brrrainth!” His jowls flapped as he tried to push his head towards the cloud of mist as though that would let it slip back into his head. “Puuuhhreeathe! Nawwwtuh dummm dawrrugh! DawwRUGH! GRROOF! AWRUFF!”

The ability to speak tugged its way out of his head, and instead of moving his jaw to approximate words, he just opened it to let out loud barks.

“Aw, close. Actually it’s your humanity. But don’t worry, because…” Candace snapped her hand towards the last of the mist, and when she opened it up, there were delicious treats in her hands. “Good boy gets good treats!”

They were meant for him! He was so hungry! He pounced on the treats, jowls wetly smacking his owner’s hands as his long tongue scooped up each delicious morsel. His tail wagged all the while, he absolutely loved how good his owner’s treats were!

xXx

Candace fondly smiled at the memory. He’d looked so sweet, gobbling up all of his old life. And, best of all, he’d known enough about training dogs thanks to all those years studying them, he’d basically come preprogrammed with commands and tricks!

“That’s my smart stupid boy, whatta good dog!” She laughed, scratching behind his ears. He whined contentedly, but kept tugging his head slightly, like he wanted her to follow him.

Well, that was weird. She’d already tended to his father and sister, so it’s not like they had anyone else in the family to take care of...

“Hey, you got something to show me? C’mon, let’s go gettem.” Candace patted her former son’s flanks, then jogged after her dog as he raced from the barn.