Dog Days

A short story about canine companionship…

“80 children and their dogs have gone missing in the last seven days. Major news services have received reports from over 20 countries indicating boys and girls in addition to 40 adults have disappeared, along with their beloved pets. So far, no trace of the missing children, adults, or dogs has been found. Authorities are struggling to find an explanation.”

Five years earlier:

“Why do dogs take naps, Daddy?” asked Carla.

“The same reason as children, Carla. Remember the K-9 police dog that came to your school with his human partner?”

“Yeah. He was awesome.”

“Well, that K-9 officer…what was his name…?”

“Sully!”

“That’s it…Sully…You see, Sully is a working dog, but he takes naps between the times when he’s working. Our puppy, Maisie, isn’t a working dog, but she takes naps between play times.”

“It must be more than that, Daddy. Some dogs nap a lot, and some move around like they’re dreaming.”

“They probably do dream, like people, except maybe about chasing squirrels or playing with kids, like you, Carla.”

“Maybe. Sam said his Great Gran told him that dogs go someplace else when they dream. To another world. She thinks they could be angels in disguise.”

“It’s nice to think so, Pumpkin, but that’s just a fairytale, like the bedtime stories your mom and I read to you.”

“Well, if they do go someplace else, I wish I could go too some time, just to see it.”

“Wouldn’t that be wonderful? But I’m afraid dogs just sleep like all us mammals.”

“You’re probably right, Daddy. We learned about mammals in school. Dogs, cats, mice, horses, cows, lions, tigers, elephants, and humans are all mammals. Even whales are mammals!”

“That’s right! I’m proud of you for paying attention. You’re a smart girl, Carla!”

———-

Where do dogs go in their slumbers? Sam’s Great Gran thought they were angels. In fact, she once had a Golden Retriever-Rottweiler mix called, Angel. She was a good dog, sweet and gentle. Whenever one of her humans got sick or was feeling anxious, Angel stayed by their side. One time a burglar got into her house and Angel kept him cornered until the police arrived. When Angel died at age 13, Great Gran vowed never to get another dog because she was so special. She often said Angel spent her dream time in heaven and when she died, she went there and immediately felt right at home. When Great Gran passed away, her family talked about how Angel would be waiting for her, ready with a friendly nuzzle and an insistent bark, which Great Gran wouldn’t mind a bit.

———-

One year before first contact:

“What is the status of your research assignment, Gaius?”

“My human is treating me well,” Titus. “By all measures, he is a strong candidate for first contact. He continues to treat me like his best friend. We go everywhere together. He has not let anyone mistreat me and he has seen to it that I have good food, clean water, and a warm, dry place to sleep near his bed. Often, we sleep together, but he has told me to keep this a secret from his parents. He seems to like many kinds of animals and treats his friends and neighbors with kindness and respect.”

“Very good. As you know, we must make sure all our candidates are completely receptive to meeting sentient beings from a world other than their own. If they cannot be kind to a dog, what chance would our people have in a first contact situation with them? We all remember the hostility and resentment we received from the inhabitants of the last world we encountered. We must be certain our charges are not likely to react with violence or fear, “fight or flight,” humans call it. Like our possible contacts, Canis familiarus, the domesticated dog, responds well to gentle and consistent treatment, and tends to display aggression and destructive behaviors when exposed to harsh or erratic input. Candidates that shout, tease, strike, starve, or otherwise mistreat their dogs are to be summarily ruled out. Only candidates who have managed to cultivate trusting relationships will remain in the program. I needn’t remind you we are looking for the best of the best. We are not likely to find more than 200 finalists on the entire planet.”

“I shall report again tomorrow.”

Gaius returned to his canine form, as the dog named, “Happy.” He was the companion of a human boy known as Sam, Carla’s friend. Happy was a Beagle mix, assumed to be part Labrador Retriever. He was in part measuring Sam’s potential by the degree to which he was able to bond with him. He had heard Sam talk about his Great Gran, and her dog, Angel. Gaius – Happy – would have loved to be Angel and evaluate Great Gran, but his arrival had been a few years too late. He hoped Sam had learned all he could from her. But he considered the possibility that part of Sam’s empathy towards him was encoded in his genetic material. Good dog companions tended to run in families. Unfortunately, so did poor ones.

Some of Gaius’ colleagues were disappointed, to say the least, that their humans simply tied them to a stake in the back yard, in all kinds of weather, and never took them on a walk. Their humans never really let them become part of the family. Others lived with humans who beat them or fed them only when they felt like it. Their water dishes were constantly filled with slime and debris. A few had the misfortune of being owned by humans who liked to use their dogs to fight, sometimes to the death. They reported they preferred death to being taunted and forced to live in small cages. And other humans, to their shame, turned their dogs over to animal shelters until such time as they were euthanized. All of these reported they were relieved to end their research early and be able to resume their original form and engage in other, more worthwhile activities. Gaius was one of the lucky ones. So far, he was finding his research quite pleasant.

———-

“Titus. Let me tell you about Sam.”

“Go on, Gaius.”

“Sam is a wonderful human. He is 12 years old and likes music, baseball, basketball, and science. He won an award at what his school calls a “science fair.” His project was rocketry. Sam told me he would like to go to the moon, or maybe even Mars, someday. He plays French Horn in the band. I’m not sure how good he is at it, because the auditory organs of a dog are too sensitive to high frequencies, but his mother keeps saying he’s very good. All I can tell is that the oil he uses smells funny, and I’d prefer he not use it, but the valves won’t work without it. To his credit, he tries not to play too loud around me or play his “horn,” as he calls it, in my ears. He gives me treats when we come back from walks. And we walk almost every day. Sometimes we go over and visit his friend Carla, which is another kind of treat, because her dog, Maisie, is an old friend of mine, Cassia. We must be careful, though. When we first met, Carla said it seemed like Maisie and I already knew each other. She’s very perceptive.”

“Yes, and Cassia told me Carla treats her as well as Sam treats you. She is another good candidate.”

“I was just going to say that. Carla is very kind to both Maisie and Happy. She treats them almost like people. And, she and Sam have the most grown-up talks – about books, school, life with their parents, animals, the stars and planets, and what it’s like when others mock you if you earn an A on a test. They are even talking about college. Carla wants to be a doctor or biologist. Sam wants to be an engineer or an astronaut.”

“Let us agree to keep watch a little longer,” said Titus. “We are gaining more information each solar day and should be able to finalize our list before the year is over.”

———-

Around the world there were hundreds of dogs serving as hosts to beings we might find very intimidating if we were to meet them unprepared. The purpose of their research was to identify humans, both children and adults, who could meet with them and return to tell the world about their existence. It was important to these beings to find people who might be open to encountering alien life, without as we might say, “freaking out.” The aliens were aware of Earth’s bloody history, especially the parts about how those who were different – either by race, religion, or immigration status – were ostracized, punished, enslaved, or killed. To avoid the “fight or flight” reaction so common across the galaxy, they devised a technology to transfer their consciousness to other living things. For their research on Earth they chose dogs, the one animal that had lived in proximity with humans for at least 10,000 years – a species very different from humans, but with a social affinity for domestic partnership that at its best seemed to mirror the kind of friendship the aliens desired. If a human could have a long-term trusting relationship with a dog, they reasoned, why not with a sentient alien species?

As the list grew shorter, the aliens were both encouraged and discouraged. Encouraged because they had found many intelligent, accepting, and trustworthy humans who might greet them with compassion. Discouraged because millions of Earth’s inhabitants had yet to figure out how to tolerate one another, much less develop empathy with another species. At least the dog experiment was a way to observe and report without frightening the inhabitants of Earth. And at least the aliens had found a high correlation between openness to new ideas and living as a good companion to canines. The moment of truth was coming. If Cassia, the Border Bollie, and Gaius, the Beagle-Lab mix, and their companions, Carla and Sam, as well as another 118 humans of various ages could meet the aliens outside their canine avatars and accept them, there would be hope others would do the same. If they felt deceived that their dogs were not who they seemed to be, or otherwise wouldn’t accept them, the experiment would have failed.

———-

One day before first contact:

120 dogs in far-flung locations took their naps simultaneously. Titus announced that tomorrow would be meeting day number one. He reiterated the protocols. For the past five years their vessels were positioned in the four Lagrangian points closest to earth. Three of the four had already converged on L1, with their largest vessel located above Earth’s southern pole. The humans would be transported over the course of several days to meet in small groups in the largest vessel. Their canines would accompany them, to serve as intermediaries. The plan was to speak to the humans through their dogs, which was a calculated risk. “Perhaps hearing their dogs explain the situation will prepare the humans to meet us in our physical form,” Titus declared. “However, if any human becomes too frightened or states a desire to go home, they will be returned at once. We want no harm to come to any of our charges.”

Titus’ concerns were real. His people stood seven to eight feet tall and could be described as “willowy.” Picture Gandalf as a much taller, ganglier being, with a larger head and wider eyes. Imagine a community of extremely lanky Gandalfs, but with skin, if you could call it that, or rather a smooth outer covering that shone like diamonds. Let your picture of Gandalf retain his kind eyes and generally serious disposition. This is why Gaius, Cassia, and their colleagues were apprehensive about revealing their true forms. Most people would find them intimidating, to say the least. In Earth’s distant past, a few had made the error of appearing in a church and were mistaken for angels. They had learned from that mistake.

First contact:

When the time came, Carla and Maisie, Sam and Happy, and Angus, a retired professor of astronomy, and his dog, Max, were transported to a room on the main vessel. It was a comfortable space, with high ceilings and carefully-selected furnishings – stuffed chairs, a sofa, a coffee table, end tables, lamps, carpeting, drapes. The room was like a very nice American den, except for one major difference. It had a picture window overlooking planet Earth. The southern hemisphere was visible. Antarctica was partially in darkness, but mostly in light, because it was summer at the south pole.

“Well, I’m no’ dead,” Angus stated quietly, in a slight Scottish inflection. “But I do appear to be in orbit. There’s the Cape of Good Hope. Maxie, what do ye think of all this?”

At first, Sam and Carla didn’t speak or move. Sam broke their silence. “Carla are you OK? How about you, Happy…Maisie?” The dogs stood steadfastly next to their humans. “And, who are you?” Sam looked at Angus.

“Angus McPherson. Pleased to meet you…” He stretched out his hand.

“Sam Jackson, and this is Carla Mendez, my friend, and this is Happy, and this is Maisie.” Sam shook Angus’ hand.

“Aye. And this is Max. He’s a Great Pyrenees.”

At this point the three dogs walked over to the observation window and sat facing their humans.

“That’s strange,” said Carla. “It looks like Max and our dogs know each other, and they might have something to say to us.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions, Lassie. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for all this.”

“Angus is right. We also shouldn’t panic. Whoever brought us here is at least trying to make us feel comfortable,” said Sam.

“Aye, Laddie. And, it’s not every day one gets to see such a fine view of the Earth from space. I’ve dreamed about this my whole life.”

“It’s probably just an 8K screen,” Sam replied.

“But it’s 5 meters wide!” Angus exclaimed.”

Carla had walked over to the window. The dogs remained still, confident. She touched the glass.

“I don’t think it’s a window,” Carla whispered. “It sparkles and tingles when you touch it.”

Angus joined her and placed his hand on the Cape of Good Hope. “Aye, Lassie. I think what we might have here is a force field. Unless this is a trick, we are now above the south pole.”

Sam and Carla drew in their breath. Both said, “Awesome!”

“Indeed,” Angus replied. “Wha’do ye think, Maxie?”

“I can assure you all this is not a trick. The view of the Earth is real, and Angus, that is a force field. You have all been selected for a special mission…” Max replied.

Angus, Carla, and Sam froze in place. “Did Max just talk, or have I suddenly become senile?” Angus asked.

“You are well. Max just talked.” Maisie responded.

“Maisie! I always knew it!” Carla exclaimed.

“My real name is Cassia.”

“I suppose you can talk too, Happy.” Sam said.

“Yes, Sam. My real name is Gaius, and we have something important to discuss with everyone.”

“If that’s the case, may I sit down?” Angus enquired. “And I don’t suppose ye have any refreshments, do ye?” His brogue often became a little thicker in times of stress.

“We do have refreshments, but it’s best you do not have “a wee dram,” as you call it, in front of the children.” Max strode over to Angus and placed his paw on Angus’ knee. “My real name is Aurelius.”

“I think we should all sit down,” Carla said.

Carla and Sam took seats on the sofa, and Angus took a nice stuffed chair. The top of the coffee table opened to reveal some snacks and beverages.

“Now, that’s more like it!” Angus declared.

Gaius welcomed them to have something to eat, thinking of all the times Sam had offered him treats for no reason, other than affection. He would enjoy the treat and then curl up by Sam’s side as he did his homework or read a book. Gaius was glad to return the favor, as were Cassia and Aurelius. So far, the meeting was proceeding well. The hard part was yet to come.

After the three had a chance to consume a few “refreshments,” Aurelius, Cassia, and Gaius stood to face them.

Gaius spoke first. “Sam, Carla, Angus. You have been chosen because of your special relationships with your canine companions and a careful evaluation of your openness to new experiences and new knowledge.”

“Chosen for what?” Angus interjected.

“Please let us explain,” Aurelius replied.

“I’m sorry, Maxie. Please, go on,” Angus looked apologetic.

Aurelius continued, “Angus, you, more than many other humans, know that a potential first contact with alien beings is, as you have said, “fraught with difficulty.” Aurelius did his best impression of Angus’ accent.

“And our goal is not to disrespect or frighten anyone,” Cassia added.

“You’re aliens, aren’t you?” Carla asked, staring at the dogs.

“Well, not us. We are not canines. Rather…you could call us, Travelers. Your loyal companions have provided a way for us to learn about you.

Sam broke in, “You didn’t hurt Happy, did you? You better not, or…”

“We did not injure your canine friends, we merely experienced life through their eyes, ears, paws, and noses. We learned how you treated them and how you interacted with other humans. Maisie, Happy, and Max are all fine, as you shall witness soon,” Gaius reassured them.

“So, you’re Travelers. What does that mean, exactly?” Angus enquired.

Aurelius explained, “We are on a journey to find and contact sentient life in this part of the galaxy. There are approximately 800 of us involved in the search. We have been investigating human life for five years and have selected 120 possible representatives to learn about us and share that knowledge with others on Earth. During the next few days, forty small groups will learn what you are about to learn. I must tell you that if at any time or for any reason you wish to leave, we will immediately transport you and your canine safely home. At the end of our period of first contact, all of you will be returned to your United Nations building to share your new knowledge with the world. After that, we shall see what will happen. We hope to build friendly relationships with the people of your planet.”

“When you put it that way…” Angus chuckled.

“So, if you’re not really dogs, what are you?” Sam asked the big question.

“Are you ready to meet us?” Cassia asked.

“Yes,” Carla replied.

“Me too,” Sam said.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Angus added.

The door opened, and three beings entered. Angus, Cassie, and Sam stood up. They didn’t know what else to do in the presence of the Travelers.

“I am Cassia,” the first held out her hand to Carla.

Carla, her eyes wide, looked up at Cassia and bowed. Then she reached out timidly and took Cassia’s hand. Her “skin” was smooth, like fine china, but she could see it was luminous through her fingers. “Awesome…” she whispered.

“I am Aurelius,” the next held out his hand to Angus.

“Are ye sure yer not radioactive?” Angus asked with a wink.

Aurelius smiled with his eyes. “You always were entertaining, Angus. I assure you we are not radioactive, only a little luminescent.”

Angus took his hand and sighed. “Pleased to finally meet ye.”

“I am Gaius,” the third offered his hand to Sam.

Sam grabbed his hand and then moved closer and hugged him, which looked odd because he was at least two feet taller than Sam. Gaius sighed, and a tear appeared in the corner of his left eye.

The three dogs looked on with their heads cocked to the side.

Later, Gaius sent a short message to Titus. It read, “There is hope.”