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Making the Pack,

Dr. Fay Burns sat at her desk, hands crossed in her lap. She was listening to a manager from a top dog food manufacturing company complain about her job problems.

“I took this post over from my father, but I can't seem to get into it. Meanwhile, we're launching the newest, best product yet, and I can't get together with the two department heads. Aggie and Jade are great businesswomen, but that's all they are. I feel like they just want to get the money in. They don't get the product! They don't care about the dogs eating it! Look, I'm thirty-five! I should be able to be able to work with my employees.”

“And so Jan Mavis told you to come to me?”

Maddie Fenton tugged at her brown hair thoughtfully. “Jan said you took her and her workers and 'bonded' them in only days...She wouldn't tell me how, but it's supposedly unbelievable.”

“It'll cost you.”

“It'll cost my company more if I don't.”

Dr. Burns had instructed them to find a relatively private location where the three could spend some time together. Apparently this was just what she had done for Jan and her workers. So when Maddie met up with Aggie and Jade at her summer house, she was not surprised to find a nice spread laid out for them: punch, bagels, and several hors d'oeuvres. What she was surprised about was the four open bags of her company's new dog food propped up against the wall.

“Why?” she uttered, fingering a bag.

Jade, a pretty, twenty-eight-year-old Asian girl, smiled. “There's canned food too.” She pointed to a pile of it on the counter. “And bowls. And a can opener.”

Twenty-five-year-old Aggie giggled, twisting a piece of her strawberry-blonde locks around her finger. “Oh, maybe they're going to do some kind of dog therapy on us. They'll bring dogs for us to pet, and it'll help us.” She walked over and scooped some punch into a cup. “So here's to the dogs! Cheers!” She raised it, and drank deep.

“Wait for us, Aggie!” Maddie ladled out a cup for herself and one for Jade. “To bonding,” she announced.

“Bonding,” agreed Jade and Aggie, and everyone downed their drinks.

The three sat back on the couches in the living room, wondering what to do next. Dr. Burns had not given further instructions, and no other people were around. Were they just supposed to talk?

“You know, Maddie,” Aggie smiled, “I think we'd get along fine by just going out to dinner together.”

Jade nodded. “You might be right, but I think Maddie really wants friendships, not just cold workplace relationships.”

“It's true,” Maddie nodded her head slightly bashfully, “We'll work better by spending time together outside of the workplace.”

“We're not cold to each other.”

“Come on, Aggie. You and I are exact opposite personalities. Maddie's our boss – and we treat her that way – respectfully and distantly. No offense, but I can't say you guys are the first people I'd be friends with...” She kicked off her sandals, exposing her bare feet. “Ah, that's much better.”

Maddie scratched at her shoe, then pulled both off. “You're right. My feet are actually itchy.”

“Mine too,” Aggie removed hers, then stared at the bottom of her legs. She could have sworn she had shaved this morning. And her feet never had hair on them before...

After an uncomfortable silence, Jade suddenly exclaimed, “Maddie? What did you do to your hair, and for that matter, when?”

Maddie clasped her hand to her head. It felt softer; almost woolen. She rose, and a glance in the wall mirror confirmed that she had an odd, curly gray patch in the center of her scalp. “Oh my God! I'm going gray!”

“And curly?” Aggie put her legs up on the glass coffee table. She realized she should have been concerned for her boss, but she felt surprisingly relaxed. There had to be a good reason for the gray. Maybe Maddie had a scary ride up to the summer house? It was weird that she hadn't noticed Maddie's gray patch before, however...

And had Jade's teeth always been so long? Aggie wondered, turning her attention to her co-worker. “Did you just go to the dentist or something, Jade?” she asked. And she could have sworn Jade's black, pin-straight hair had taken on a browner, fluffier appearance.

“Dentist?”

Aggie watched a completely baffled Jade explore her teeth with her finger. She had never noticed how the girl's nails were so thick, either.

Still clutching her gray area, Maddie gasped at the sight of Aggie's feet. “Aggie, your nails look weird. Like, darker, longer than normal...”

“My nails look weird?” As Aggie inspected her nails with an anxious curiosity, she inhaled deeply, and something stirred within her. There was a smell... In fact, her sinuses had seemed to clear up instantaneously, and she could smell...everything. “There's a fox outside.” She blurted out in a confused voice.

“How do you know...oh! I think you're right!” Jade raced over to the window to view a red fox sniffing around the edge of the woods.

Perturbed, Aggie spouted, “How could I have smelled a fox?”

Suddenly all three bounded to the front door. They had to get outside.

The fox bounded into the woods, and for some reason, they felt inclined to follow it. As they trudged through the underbrush, Maddie's ears twitched as she listened for the animal. That was strange – she had never been able to move them before. She touched them, drawing her hand back in alarm.

They were getting...longer?

She paused, examining the rest of her body. Her ankle felt itchy, so she pulled up her pant leg to investigate. What was this? Yes, she had shaved just before she had left this morning. Yes, eventually her dark hair made her stubble obvious. But why was it swiftly growing out in a grayish color before her very eyes?

And it was the same color and texture as the area on her head...

She made a disappointed moan. There had to have been alcohol in that punch. That was why she was seeing this. It wasn't real. And when she realized the fluff was on her hands too, she rolled up her sleeves.

There it was, a nice soft patch on the almond skin of her arm.

She ran her hand over it, marveling at the softness, yet fearful of how real this hallucination was. “I don't feel drunk,” she mumbled to herself.

“Maddie, what's wrong?” Jade called from ahead. She and Aggie were scratching themselves all over, and were discussing whether there was poison ivy somewhere around.

Carefully, Maddie crept towards them. She had to tell them...they would notice...

“I feel so great running like this in the woods!” Jade cried. “I'm barefoot, and it doesn't bother me one bit.”

As Maddie got closer to the two women, she murmured, “I think I'm growing fur.”

Not sure she had heard her boss right, Aggie exclaimed, “What?”

When Aggie stepped closer, it was Maddie's turn to gasp. “Aggie, your nose! It's getting...dark, and big...”

“Look at her eyes!” cried Jade.

“Look at yours!” Each time Aggie spoke, her words seemed to be harder to pronounce. Her tongue felt funny, like it was longer. Maybe she was sick? No, her sinuses were better, not worse!

Maddie put her hands to her cheek to scratch her itchy skin. “Holy freaking hell! Now my face is furry!” A look of anxiety washed over her face. “What's happening here? Was there something in the punch?”

“Well, I think it made me lose weight or something.” Jade clutched at her pants, which suddenly seemed to be too big on her. In gazing down at them, she caught a glimpse of her chest above the V-neck of her shirt. “Brown...hair...on my...chest? I never had that–”

But her words were drowned out by their boss's harsh yelp. Something had moved in the back of Maddie's pants.

Pulling them down, she twisted around and emitted a shriek. There was a tail! There was fur growing all over her! Her feet were shrinking, and, when she lifted one up, there was darkness on the bottom, and it was growing puffier as she watched, forming into a perfect little paw pad!

“Oh, my God, I'm turning into a dog!” she whispered. "I'm dreaming.  I have to be."

Aggie jumped up in delight. “You think it's possible we're really transforming? OO! I feel that!” She tugged down her pants to her knees to see her own fur and tail coming in. “I can wag it! Is this magic?”

“Magic, or some future-science?” Jade posited. Although her face was obtaining its own brown fur, enough skin was still visible to see that she was blushing. Nonetheless, she pulled her own pants down. Studying herself, she shrugged. “Guess I don't need underwear anymore either.” She flicked off her panties, and then stripped off her shirt and bra. She snuck a peek at her feet, regarding her new paw pads. “Now I know why it was so comfortable running through the woods barefoot. I have pads!”

“Amazing! Oh, gosh...” Maddie shrugged. “I know I should be embarrassed, but I...just...have to get this all off! It's so itchy...and hot...” She stared at her swiftly- shrinking chest. “Oh, they're...going...away...”

“Who cares about breasts! We're turning into cute, fluffy...dogs!” Now extremely excited, Aggie clapped her hands in delight. As she clasped her pants where they still were at the bottom of her legs, she examined her changing hands giddily. “I'm getting thick nails...” Kicking off her pants, the sight of her feet made her cry out. Her toes were shrinking and flattening, the nails already completely dog-like, and the feet were drastically shorter. She had always loved dogs, and she had dreamed of becoming one before, but how could this be real?

As Maddie watched her friends change, she felt a calm run through her changing body. No wonder Jan had recommended this experience so highly! “Who knew it was possible...” She observed her employees in shocked silence, and she could actually feel her snout forming and her ears drooping. “That's amazing. Dr. Burns told me it would be wonderful, and who bonds better than dogs?”

“Sheepdogs, to be exact!” Aggie piped up.

The three began to dance around excitedly.

Aggie was relishing her changes. While pacing through the leaves, she felt her legs shorten and thin, and she kept feeling the urge to drop onto all fours. “Hooray!” she cried, wagging her tail in glee. She wanted to run and play, but there was another smell...

An intoxicating smell...

Almost as if she could read Aggie's mind, Jade cried, “The dog food!” It was quite evident that her elongating teeth and tongue were making it harder for her to speak.

Aggie eyed her changing hands. “We better get back quick or we're not opening any cans!”

The three raced back, rotating back and forth between two and four feet. Their anticipation was hastening their changes, and when they arrived back at the house, only Maddie had any dexterity left in her hands. She suddenly felt a drop in her height, and, in a panic, she ran to the kitchen counter. Gripping can after can of dog food in her quickly-forming paws, she fumbled around until she opened all of them. “I gotta have some of this wet food!” She lost hold of the last can as her hands were now completely paws. The food splattered to the floor, but Aggie was already licking up the meat wherever it fell. She looked up from her meal, gravy all over her enlarging snout, her long tongue lolling from the side of her mouth. “Betterrrrrr... than...steak....rrrrrrgh!” Her ability to speak was now lost, but she did not seem to mind in the least. Tail wagging, she continued to eat, and Jade, who had already lost the ability to speak outside, joined her with zeal.

I can't eat dog food! I'm a person...Maddie's little bit of humanity that was left battled with the canine that she was swiftly becoming.

Observing the two near-dogs feasting before her, she tried to speak again, but merely let out a “rooof, arf, rooff..grrr...”

And the meaty chunks were too much to resist. With a grunt, Maddie was forced to all fours, and the three new dogs dined, their tails wagging in sync.

With a bit of work, Maddie was able to finagle the door open with her paws, and they burst outside, barking and yelping with abandon. They romped in the woods for hours, playing with a ball they had found in the woods behind a neighbor's yard. Hot on the trail of a squirrel, they bounded back into Maddie's yard to find they were not alone.

The next door neighbor stood there, hands on her hips, gaping at the house's open back door. “What the hell? Stray dogs got into Maddie Winters' house! I have to get help!” She ran off, but the women, deeply buried in their dog psyches, simply dismissed her as an annoyance.

But unfortunately, the neighbor had called animal control. And soon, the three inexperienced canines were locked in a truck on their way to the pound. Maddie and Jade could only look at each other, panic in their doggy-eyes.

Aggie merely wagged her tail. This was her dream come true. Even the danger part.

As Maddie paced nervously back and forth in her cage, her mind was in a whirl. Dr. Burns had done a wonderful thing for them, and being transformed, she had never felt so free, but the doctor probably had not accounted for crazy neighbors. Was she to waste the rest of this remarkable gift here in a pound? Their transformation could not possibly be a permanent thing as the doctor and Jan had mentioned it took only days. Now that she was quite bonded to her new friends, she worried about them greatly.

What would happen when they changed back? There would be a lot of explaining to do, that was for certain.

Forlornly, Jade sat curled up in the corner of her cage. She loved the way this body felt, and she longed to run with her friends again. She assumed this change was not permanent, and thus it saddened her that the precious minutes were ticking away. She jumped up and did a half-hearted bounce around her cage, but there was no one to share it with, and there wasn't even a human being around to see. Sadly, she curled back up into the corner and went to sleep.

Aggie could not rest. She sprang around the cramped space, yipping and biting at her food bowl. She loved being a dog, and she didn't care that she was caged. It was such a great feeling, being furry, four-legged, and...cute! The workers already loved her, and both times that she was fed, she was lavished upon with a full-body rub.

And then a family came.

Aggie's mind was being taken over by her dog instincts. She wanted to be loved, pampered, and petted. If a family took her home, she knew she would be the best pet ever. “Adopt me! I want to be your pet!” she tried to say to the little boy who was gazing at her longingly. It only came out as a series of yips, but this was enough to get the attention of the mother.

“Let's bring Daddy by tomorrow to see her.”

A few cages down, Maddie heard this conversation and panicked. Even though Aggie was enjoying being a dog, she couldn't be adopted! She'd change back, and if seen, there would be a lot of traumatized people. If she wasn't seen, she would be leaving behind a very sad family. Plus, was this a no-kill shelter? She could only hope so! Viewing the other dogs in the area, she resolved to find them all homes if it was.

Once they had their last feeding for the night and all the workers left, Maddie began to fiddle with the latch on her cage. Damn paws, she thought to herself, as her pads and nails slid off the metal. But she had all night to work on this. It wasn't that complicated. She had to get them all out!

Some time later, she succeeded in lifting the latch. She bounded out of her cage and freed Jade, who wagged her tail in welcome. When they approached Aggie, however, she backed up into the corner of her cage, growling at them. Maddie made a motion towards the door, implying escape, and Aggie staunchly shook her head “no”. Annoyed, Maddie jumped at the latch and let the door swing open. Then she and Jade ran off.

Maddie and Jade's unlocking and opening the front door set the alarm off. Apparently this was enough to scare Aggie out of her canine haze, and she burst out the door right after them.

They ran through the night, their noses leading them in the direction of Maddie's house. They stopped for a roll in the dirt, savoring the feeling, then Aggie felt an odd twinge.

Her fur was coming out, and her body was stretching.

Oh, no! No! I wanted to be this way forever! she thought in horror. Desperately, she tried to fight the changes, but it only seemed to hasten them.

Then she stopped, watching her feet expand, and her body enlarge...

She could see Maddie and Jade changing as well, and they grew still, observing the changes helplessly.

In tears, Aggie viewed her tail shortening into non-existence. Her ears were pulling back, her snout was flattening, and soon she was back on two legs.

Depressed, the nearly-human women made their way back to Maddie's house. “We better go find our clothes,” Jade suggested, a pang in her voice. “I wouldn't want Maddie's neighbor to see a bunch of hairy, naked women in the woods.”

No one laughed.

The three sat around the fireplace in silence. Although they were back in human form, they were all still rather hirsute. Aggie was stroking her fuzzy arm, a faraway look on her face. “It's taking too long.”

Scratching at her sagging ear, Jade finally spoke, although she did not bother to answer Aggie. “It was nice, Maddie. Thank you for sharing that with us. It was the most amazing experience I've had in my life. Too bad we had to spend time in the pound.” She rubbed at her tailbone.

“I didn't care where I was, as long I was a dog!” Aggie cried playfully. She tried to wag her tail but it wasn't there. “How did you know I wanted to be a dog?”

Maddie glanced at her. “I didn't.”

“We need a whole stockroom full of that punch,” murmured Jade.

Maddie smiled encouragingly. “I only wish. You have no idea how much money I had to shell out for it. But it was worth it in so many ways! Now we can get this new product off the ground. And from very personal experience, we know it'll be a hit!”

“You bet it will!” exclaimed Jade with a laugh, and to her embarrassment, her mouth watered, and an elongated tongue fell out of it.

Aggie didn't say anything. She couldn't. Her snout had returned, and the rest of her dog body came back with a rush. It had to have been the three new cups of punch she had just had. She snuck off to the kitchen and ate some more dog food.

Yes, undoubtedly this new food would be a hit.