FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Most people only saw a German Shepherd with a bit of an odd coloration panting happily on the sidewalk. Probably someone's pet? Missing a collar though. _Hope he gets back to his owner!_they'd think. But the fact that she was a girl dog was literally the smallest mistake they'd be making.

Wooaoh was one of a few hundred Dogolese natives who had travelled through Earth's portal to visit this alternate universe to their own reality where wolves had been the first species to evolve sentience. On Dog Earth, as the humans liked to call it, there _were_no humans, only a proto-ape that had never quite left the trees of Africa. Now, however, she was trapped and alone in the city of Hargrave, one of the few cities with an active portal for the exchange of information and ideas. She knew for a fact that humans were disappointed to find that the first intelligent life they encountered was still in the Stone Age.

She'd lost the most important requirement for her stay on Earth - the translation collar that turned her Dogolese yips, barks, and woofs into English. Not that she would go back and try to keep it - slipping free of that identifying collar is the only thing that had allowed her to escape two males who wanted to keep her. Sex with Grant had been pretty great, to be honest, despite how drunk she'd been, but that was one experience she didn't want to repeat.

As soon as Wooaoh recovered her breath, she ran to the nearest crowd of humans and started barking for help. All she needed to do was find another Dogolese more trustworthy than Kyle, or maybe the rare human who understood Dogolese. <Help me, someone! I was attacked and I lost my collar!>

Luckily, it didn't take long to find a helpful human. He obviously couldn't speak her language, but at least he could tell she needed help. "Who's a cute boy? You look lost. Hmm, no collar," he said, recognizing the issue immediately. He brought out his phone, tapped the screen a few dozen times, and held it to his ear. "Don't worry, boy, I'll get you some help. Just wait a sec, okay?"

"Hey, bud, why don't we get out of the way of all these people?" he asked, pointing to a small gap between two nearby stores. Now that she was clearly getting the help she needed, the rest of the humans, and even some dogs (though they were mostly likely the human's pets) walked right on by.

He must be calling the embassy. She sat, trying to look happy without going too far and appearing to bare her teeth. <Thank you!> she yipped, smiling up at him as best she could.

He gave a shiver of apparent delight, taking a step back so quickly he almost fell on his butt, probably surprised that she knew how to do a human smile. "There's a nice boy. You'll be fine. Just a little longer."

The nice man with the phone waited along with her, fiddling with his phone. Eventually, he reached a hand out to her again, and he touched the top of her head. She gave him a flat look to make it clear that just because she looked like a dog, that didn't mean he should treat her like one. Some humans hadn't really learned how to behave around the Dogolese. "Oh!" he said, looking over his shoulder and pointing at her. Glancing over her shoulder, the driver she'd been waiting for announced himself by slipping a thin loop around her neck. Surprised, she tried to pull back, but the long staff tightened the bind so that it dug into her neck! <Hey! What in the name of the Moon do you think you're doing!?> she tried to bark at him. But her airflow was severely constricted and it just came out as unintelligible whines.

Not that these humans would have understood them anyway.

"Easy girl. You'll be fine if you don't struggle," the animal control agent said in a tone that was probably intended to be soothing, but was mostly just condescending. It also reminded her of Grant telling her everything would go better for her if she just gave in. While she was still gasping for air, he slipped a leather muzzle around her mouth. At least he loosened the loop enough so she could breathe and talk again.

She shook her head. <I'm not a dog, you idiot! I'm in the exchange program, I just lost my collar! Oh...blast it, you won't understand this either.>

He turned, thanking the friendly Samaritan who'd just made a huge mistake, dragging the eighty-pound bitch behind him to his special van. There were a few eyes on her, but all the four-legged ones were sporting leashes and empty heads. Apparently a stray dog getting tossed in a cage in the back of a van was normal to these people.

The ride in the cramped cage in the back of the van was worse than she had expected. She could smell many different dogs from previous trips. Most of them smelled of distress, and some smelled of anger. She could smell sex which she could only hope was between the pet dogs, and multiple places where dogs had soiled themselves in fear. The industrial cleaner only made the intermingled smells_worse_.

Someone will come for me. It was just a matter of time. Surely enough humans could tell the difference between her and a dog. These animal control agents were professionals, she reassured herself. Still, it was a very long car ride, and the muzzle he'd placed over her mouth before tossing her in the truck didn't help. <Hey dickhead, your mother was an idiot, too!> She knew he couldn't understand her insults, but at least it made her feel better, and hopefully someone might hear and understand. And the driver could certainly hear her through the little window to the front seat.

When she tired of barking, she switched to howling. <Hellloooo... Any sign of intelligent life on this planet? Yooooo hooooo...> She could see his face in the mirror and enjoyed watching him wince. <Serves you right, you prick!>

By the time the truck had backed up to the side of Happy Homes for Hounds, she wasn't sure if the driver, or she was looking forward to getting out of the car more. The moment the car was parked, he jumped out and stormed straight inside the building, leaving her to stew alone in the stupid cage. The latch was so infuriating. It was a pair of metal levers on the other side of a wire door, designed so that both had to be depressed to open it. So easy to use with fingers, and impossible to operate from this side without them.

After what felt like thirty minutes to the desperate Dogolese exchange student, the back door finally opened, revealing a taller woman with black hair and a kind, apologetic expression. She wore a long thin white coat that covered her to the knees, and she gave a reassuring smile. Wooaoh knew that those coats signified intelligence and education. Surely this woman would recognize her intelligence immediately. "Well how are you doing? I'm just sure you were upset by the ride, weren't you? You aren't a 'whining hell-bitch', are you?"

<Thank the Moon. You've got to help me out! He kidnapped me. If you call the embassy, they can give you everything you need to confirm my identity.>

The lady nodded, and flipped the levers on the cage's wheels. "Sure... Settle down girl. You'll be fine. Let's get you inside, and I'll get you out of this cage, okay?" She groaned to get the cage rolling out onto the raised platform behind the car, toward a door leading into the building.

The inside was much cooler, but smelled even more strongly of chemicals, as the cage was wheeled down a bare white hallway to a room that looked something like the medical rooms at the quarantine facility. <You are going to let me out of this cage, right?> she started barking. <I can walk you know! Just give them a call. I even have the number memorized. They'll have a translator on staff, and someone - >

"Quite a noisy girl, aren't you," she said in that same voice. "I can see what Dave meant. I just need you to calm down. I can see that you're agitated, but you'll be fine here," and while Wooaoh stood there in shock, the lady snapped a leash to the muzzle strapped to her face.

Her blood ran cold. This woman couldn't understand her either. <You're making a terrible mistake!> she frantically barked, but her feet skidded on the slick surface as she was dragged from the tall, rolling cart onto a shiny metal table. She couldn't see how it was done, but as she scrambled shakily onto the scratched-up surface, the woman attached something around her hips. <Rude!> she barked, trying to look over her shoulder, but the vet was tugging her leash the other way, wrapping and tightening it on the hook of a pole that shot straight up from the end of the table before arching over her. Now, if she turned more than a few degrees with her head, she was restrained, and if she swivelled her hips, whatever straps were attached to her abdomen similarly held her in place. They were so tight that even if she tried to drop down, the straps would hold her up painfully from the two tethers. She was effectively immobilized in a standing position.

<Please, someone, help!>. Maybe if she barked as loud as she could, someone would hear. Immobilized or not, she squirmed and tugged and tried to pull out of the right restraints, making the table wiggle and shake beneath her. It was clearly designed for smaller people (dogs, she realized) than she was, so maybe...

She didn't even see it coming, just felt a prick, and then burning in her rump. She turned to see the lady holding an empty hypodermic. "I'm sorry, girl. You're alright. I just don't want you hurting yourself."

The room seemed to swim around her. Her legs folded under her, and the lady detached the lines, laying Wooaoh on her back. The woman was humming as she spread Wooaoh's hind legs. She couldn't move her body at all, except for her lungs. They continued to steadily breathe, with seemingly no input from her. She had to fight to focus her eyes on the lady.

"That's right. Just relax and go to sleep. You'll wake up and think this was all a bad dream." Her legs were spread, and a thermometer was lubed. She tried to clench her ass, but couldn't do much as the cold glass rod violated her other hole. Prodding and poking Wooaoh's spade, the veterinarian said, "You look pretty well used back there." The woman took out a notebook and jotted something down. Then she pulled the rod back out, wiped it, and examined it, making another note. "Elevated body temperature. Might be in season, or just hot from the exertion and stress. Odd though, you don't look like you're in heat, but it's pretty clear some stud had a lot of fun with you."

That's really none of your business, woman! Wooaoh tried to growl but it came out as a whimper, helplessly splayed out for the veterinarian. The woman walked around her, taking notes and doing a full exam, pulling back her lips to check her teeth (clear evidence of plaque build up), inspecting her ears (dirty, but no parasites), and then she pulled out the stethoscope.

"Your heart is racing. I know, you're not in Kansas anymore," came the disembodied voice, Wooaoh barely able to keep her eyes open. "But it'll be okay, Toto. Huh - I kind of like that." Wooaoh didn't need a new name, she already had one. How typical of humans, giving someone a name they couldn't even pronounce. And a stupid name at that! And what the heck was a Kansas!? Wooaoh shivered, realizing what she was doing. As long as she was focusing on the name, she didn't have to think about what might be coming next.

But what happened next was nothing. The woman was writing notes and disregarding the dog until Wooaoh couldn't be bothered to stay awake any longer. The sedative flowing through her veins sent her straight to fitful dreams. It was until she woke up again that she realized just how thoroughly screwed she was.

Eyes fluttered open, revealing a small, personal chain-link cage. At first she thought she'd just woken up after her headache-pounding night with Grant, but she slowly got her bearings. The sound of close and distant barking filled her ears, and high-pitched squeals and whining, but none of it made any sense to her. None of the other animals being held here were Dogolese like she was. Groaning, she stood up on shaky legs.

<Hey! Help! Someone! Anyone!> she howled. If anyone here could understand her language, they'd come running. But what were the odds of that when the head doctor couldn't even do it? She watched as younger humans carried water and food and moved the pet animals around through the glass of the adjoining hallway, each ignoring her desperate pleas. If she could just get one of the humans' attention, she could do something to alert them to her true nature. If dogs were anything like the animals on her home planet, they weren't very smart. Even just a little demonstration of her intelligence would convince her handlers.

Her first chance came when one entered her wing, and she spoke as slowly and loudly as she could to convince him that her words were clearly not just random barks and whines like the dogs in the cells beside her. But the man ignored her, tossing a bowl of dry kibble that smelled wretched into her kennel before moving on without a second glance.

The second time was when the same man arrived and opened her cell. She sat and waited, looking up at him with knowing eyes, cocking her head. No pet animal would do that. But all the bored human did was wrap a leash around her and tug on her neck, dragging her outside despite her yelps of protest. Despite her attempts to get him to pay attention to her, he just tapped at his phone until she finally gave up and urinated while he was distracted. At least one good thing came from him not looking at her. But he tugged her all the way back to her kennel, completely oblivious to her attempts to communicate.

The only other break in her monotony was when humans in plain clothes visited the kennel. She could see them through the glass and she would try each and every unfamiliar face with her language, but it seemed that none of the humans had learned her language. In the whole world! They would come with little ones and stare in each kennel, but while they often visited the smaller dogs, they never entered her door. In fact, most of the humans literally covered their ears, willfully ignoring her as they left her cold and alone.

Sitting in her cage, knowing that a single phone call could sort all of this out was more than aggravating. Having people surround her, looking at her without actually seeing her was even worse. But the worst part was all the barking. <Shut up!> she barked at a labrador, 2 cages down. She'd seen him in passing, and he only ever shut up when she managed to growl and howl even louder than he did. Having to listen to the endless noises they made drove her nuts, the sounds almost like words, tickling at her brain, but they were only gibberish.

Finally, on the third day, she was brought out on a pole. It was like a leash, but dragged at her new collar. Unlike her old one, this had no translator, and was an ugly pink color. She could tell from the animals that they used pink for the females and blue for the males - evidently humans had trouble telling males and females apart! Maybe that's why they evolved with such big bulges on the female human's chest. A sign so obvious that even a dumb _human_could tell.

The exam room was smaller than her old apartment, but at least a lot bigger than her cell. "Alright girl. Let's see what you know," the typically disinterested male said. He was looking at her, paying real attention, even though the woman who had examined her was sitting and staring at a glowing screen nearby.

Finally!

He raised his arm up, as if he was holding something, though his hand was clearly empty. "Sit," he ordered, and she sat. She needed something harder! Kneeling, he said, "Good girl. Shake?" He held out a hand in some sort of gesture.

That was easy! She shook her body, as if trying to remove water from it. "Good girl," he cooed, in a patronizing voice, and tossed something at her face. She quickly dodged the projectile, showing off her agility.

"No, dummy, that's a treat," he said, tossing her another one. Again, Wooaoh dodged it, looking distastefully at what these humans fed their animals. The kibble she'd been reduced to eating wasn't very palatable, though it was salty and meaty. He made a tossing motion in the air, and said, "Come on, girl, catch!" This time, she realized her apparent intelligence was on the line, and she locked her eyes on the meat treat, snapping her head forward and catching the disgusting homogenized block of hardened sludge. She dared not chew the little thing, so she let the momentum carry it to the back of her throat and just swallowed it whole.

"Good girl!" he said, impressed. He tossed her another one, and she easily snapped it out of the air, trying to keep the disdain from her eyes.

"Now spin," he tried, twirling his finger in a circle.

She lay on her belly and rolled over not once, but twice.

Pondering her for a moment, the technician finally turned to the awful woman and asked, "Dr. Wheeler, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure thing, Dave," she replied, spinning her chair around. "Oh! Hi, Toto. How's she settling in?"

Wooaoh glared back at the hateful woman. That was not her name. <It's Wooaoh!> she whined.

"Yes, yes, I know, girl..." the vet smiled ignorantly.

"Well, she's excitable and seems to want to please, but not very well trained. She's been taught before, clearly, but is mixing up her commands."

Wooaoh froze, staring at this "Dave". <What!? You dick! I did everything exactly as you told me to!> Why was he lying? Was_everyone_ out to get her!?

The humans were clapping their hands over their ears, willfully shutting out her elegant speech, and then Dr. Wheeler grabbed a pole and clinked it to her pink collar. The "doctor", if she even _was_a doctor, lifted the pole until her words were cut off completely. "It's alright girl. I can see you're annoyed. Let's get you somewhere you can calm down. I think we're going to have to go with plan D, Dave."

"You see what I mean? No one is going to adopt her like this," the man said. "She's just not too bright, barking at every little thing."

Her jaw dropped, as the statement hit her. That didn't make any sense. Humans considered spoken language to be one of their most important inventions. It's why they had considered her species intelligent, but these idiots considered it a liability. How could humans be so dumb? She closed her eyes, and took a long breath. Well, if they needed her to be quiet, she could. At least until she got her translation collar back. Then she'd give them a piece of her mind!

She was so busy brooding as she was led down the halls that she didn't even notice where she was being led - until she found herself back in the hated room with that metal table and the straps, but by the time she turned to flee, the door had been closed behind her. She tried to pull away, but the quack tugged her around, and locked the pole into the table. Wheeler fiddled with something on the counter, and Wooaoh considered. It was probably the hateful cold rod, and she felt her tail tucking between her legs. She really didn't want that again, but should she? Was it worth it, to seem compliant?

She was still considering when the woman tossed her a little brown treat. Obey, she thought. She snapped up and swallowed the treat, looking up smugly at the veterinarian.

"See girl? That wasn't so bad. This will help you feel a lot calmer," she said, as she placed some large, plastic device on the counter.

Wooaoh tried to focus on it, but she felt her eyes blurring, and her legs getting weaker. There must have been something in the treat!_Then the world started to move sideways, and after a good minute or two, she lost her footing, the ground coming up and bumping into the side of her head. _That's not fair, she thought, sleepily. Even the ground is against me!

Someone standing outside of her vision picked her up and laid her out on the table. She tried to turn, to look in their direction, but she couldn't move her head! An icy chill - not caused by the drug - seemed to flow through her veins. What was happening to her? She tried to get up, to bark, anything, but her body wouldn't move except for her steady breathing and the rapid beating of her heart. She'd never felt so helpless, and at the mercy of Dr. Wheeler.

The woman picked up a small bottle, and brought it back. Was it for her nose? Her question was answered when her right eyelid was pulled all the way open, and the liquid was squeezed into her eye. She tried to blink, to even move, as it burned slightly, and clouded her vision, but she could do nothing, as the procedure was repeated on the other side, leaving her unable to even see much in the room, except for blurry shapes. If being unable to move had been scary, not knowing what was coming next was terrifying, and she realized she did still have control over at least one part of her body: her heart was thumping faster in her chest.

A pair of hands opened her jaws and she felt something hard and plastic - the miracle material humans loved so much - being shoved into her mouth. She expected it to stop - maybe deliver water to her parched throat? But it kept going in farther and farther. As it hit her throat, she felt like she wanted to gag, hard, but couldn't even manage that as it slid painfully down her esophagus. No, she realized, wanting to cough but being unable to. It was in her trachea, tickling her lungs. What was Dr. Wheeler doing!?_Then there was a _click-click-click as it opened, spreading her jaw and her throat. Her body insisted something was stuck in her throat, and that she had to get it out or she would suffocate, as if she had swallowed a giant bone. It didn't matter to her panic reaction that she could still breathe. Her body was certain she was going to die if she didn't cough it out.

She lay there, still, screaming in her head, fighting the urge to give in to the pill and just fall asleep.

Her breathing changed to more forceful gasps, but that was all she could do, as something else, smelling metallic and cold was pushed into her mouth, and into her throat. Her throat was spread so wide that she couldn't even feel it, until she felt a funny tickling, deep inside, which moments later turned into a searing pain, as the sensation changed to a ripping, tearing sensation. Her heart beat faster, threatening to break down completely, and she could see her clouded vision darkening at the edges. Then, the searing pain hit her a second time, worse than the first, and she blacked out completely.

She woke with an aching head and a sore throat.

That tequila is powerful stuff. It took some time before she realized that something wasn't right. She wasn't lying on the soft foam bed in Grant's house, or even his couch. Her head did ache, but the floor under her was cold and hard, and her eyes felt gummy and sticky. She used a paw to try to scratch at them, but bopped herself in the nose. She felt sluggish and uncoordinated, as if she was still drunk, but forced her eyes open. The whole room was blurry, and she panicked, blinking several times, until the room finally came into focus.

<Hello?> she barked, or at least tried to. Her throat hurt, but all that came out was a soft *chuff* of air. It felt like her throat was sore and dry, like the time she had caught earthrot, now known thanks to human science to be caused by microscopic little demons. She took a drink from the shiny, silver bowl. It tasted slightly sour, and a bit like blood. Had she bit her tongue?

The kennel, the vet - it all came rushing back to her. She was back in her cell after whatever Wheeler had done to her. She whimpered, but it sounded more like a bird chirping than words.

<Anyone?> she tried desperately, but there was just a huff of air, and she felt cold, as her guts seemed to knot deep inside her. Her voice was gone. Her calm broke, and she let out a long, nearly silent whine of despair.