Challenge #02154-E325: She's Still a Pup
[NAME] winced slightly. "It's a dog, Major. A companion animal."
"Looks like a class 3 bio engineered weapon to me!" -- Anon Guest
The creature was huge. Even sitting down, it was almost as tall as a human. It was almost as wide as a human. Only the wagging tail distinguished it from a Terran bear. That, and the lolling tongue, dripping saliva as the animal panted. The human by its side agitated some fur by a nub that could have been an ear. The animal made a grumbling noise that sounded content.
"It's not gengineered. This baby is naturally bred," said the Human.
Major glared at it. "From a gengineered creature?"
"Only old school selective breeding, I promise." The alleged dog leaned on its Human, marginally knocking them aside. Any minute now, the Human would claim that this behemoth was just an old softie. The Human reached around the large head to scratch the other side. "You can check her DNA for alterations if you like. She's like part of my family."
Powers, that was almost as bad.
"She's trained and everything," insisted the Human. "Not much of a shedding problem in controlled environments. I groom her daily and if there's a big enough park, I take her out for a romp. Otherwise, it's long walks. Long, long walks."
The alleged dog stood up, half her body wagging with the tail, looking to her Human, who added, "Not yet, Poppie. No. Sit."
A disappointed grumble, and she sat back down. Of course a beast like this would be named after a small Terran flower. Because Terrans loved calling huge creatures 'Tiny' and small ones 'Goliath'. It was just part of general Human Contrariness that it was almost expected by now. Likewise, the savageness of the creature was generally inversely proportional to the harmless nature of the name. Poppies, Major recalled, were one of the sources of Humanity's longest-lasting and most pervasive drugs.
"You are responsible for this creature and her warning apparel. She must be highly visible in public at all times, and she must be tested for potential allergens and vectors so that others on this station can be prepared."
"Naturally," said the Human. They hugged the beast[1], ruffling the thick fur as they did so. "We're used to two weeks in decon, aren't we girl? She's a total lamb in the exam rooms. Yoo's a big ole softy, ain'cha? Ain'cha?"
Yep. There it was. The red flag of all red flags. Major pasted a warning BOLO onto the beast's implanted identity tracker. It always helped to be prepared for the inevitable.
[1] Using dog-friendly hugs, not trapping her as human-appropriate hugging would do.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Cezar_KSV]
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Send me a prompt [34 remaining prompts!]
If she's as tall as the human sitting down how exactly is she NOT going to be highly visible at any time? XD
Yes, but a predator that big has to wear hazard colours. That's the law.