Like a Fox on the Run

mouth had defined lips, although he thought he detected some rather nasty-looking cuspids behind them. The ears weren’t human, they were high on its head and triangular; covered in black fur. They moved with each change of his facial expression or emotion. The color pattern around the face was unmistakable; it was that of a German shepherd.
His eyes were big and brown, and surprisingly, they pointed to a level of intelligence he hadn’t expected. He found this somewhat disconcerting. And yet, he had to ask himself, what level of intelligence should you expect from a dog-man?
The creature’s assigned task was to screen offloading passengers from a newly arrived charter flight from Luna. And it appeared to be failing miserably, at least according to the human officer he was partnered with. The man seemed to take great pleasure in publicly berating it, much to the delight of two other security officers who stood nearby with very nasty looking pulse rifles strapped across their chests.
“You gotta sniff the bag too, dumbass!” the cop was saying, as the creature checked a lady through the scanner. “You don’t just sniff her! You sniff the bags too!”
“Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!” it replied, trying to maintain its composure while continuing its duty. It could talk! Although it should not have surprised him, Tiger still found it odd to hear the thing speak. From a practicality standpoint, it only made sense. Hell! Why create a German shepherd man if you’re not going to give him the ability to talk? What seemed almost offensive was the proper way that the thing spoke, enunciating precisely, making the drawling cop sound like a backwoods hick.
“Just keep ‘em moving!” the officer replied without any shred of sympathy. Tiger, by now, had surmised he was your typical asshole cop who let his authority go to his head whenever he pinned his badge to his chest. He was trying hard not to feel sorry for this furball that seemed all thumbs, but his human counterpart wasn’t making it easy.
The charter passengers were finally processed and Tiger was able to get up close and personal with this thing. By now, he wanted nothing more than to get face-to-face, to get an intimate look at it. As he stepped up to the scanner, the thing looked at him and tried to smile an exasperated smile.
“Welcome to Huntsville, sir. May I please see your ID?”
Tiger was impressed at how intelligent and articulate the creature was, now that he wasn’t being, pardon the pun, hounded. He held out his Personal DataCom and the creature waved his Personal DataCom across it.
“Thank you … mister …” It held the PDC up and read his profile. “Thomas. Are you bringing anything into Earth’s atmosphere that might pose a health problem to its inhabitants?”
“No.”
It studied his data a lot longer than he should’ve, and Tiger knew he was looking at his previous transgressions above Monte Sano. “I see you’re a pilot, Mr. Thomas.”
“You are correct,” Tiger responded, starting to feel apprehensive.
It looked him over warily. “Are you carrying any cargo that would be in violation of the Essential Cargoes Act?”
“No.” Not if Dee did what he’s supposed to before my bag hit the baggage claim.
“What’s the holdup, Ruff?” the asshole cop whined out. Ruff? Really? “Is there a problem?”
The creature sniffed the air ever so slightly, and when he looked back at Tiger with those knowing eyes he knew instantly he’d been made. Fear! Panic! He smells it on me! Now Tiger tensed. If its bastard partner walked over and peeked at Tiger’s file, he was just the kind of dick-with-ears that would jam him up just for the fun of it. Space Guard goons liked nothing better than to make a spacer’s life miserable. Then it could get serious if they checked his luggage.
Shit, keep it cool Thomas! This bow-wow here ain’t the threat, it’s the jackass behind him. Don’t give him a reason to go to him. He looked into the eyes of the creature, trying to remain calm, while at the same time trying to read him. The dog-man turned to look back over his shoulder at the cop waiting by the scanner. When he turned back to Tiger, he looked directly into his eyes, and it was as if a message was passed between them, a sense of understanding.
“No,” the creature said, the corner of its lips turning up ever so slightly, in what Tiger could only surmise was just the scant hint of a smile. “No problem here. Enjoy your stay in our beautiful city, sir.”
“Thank you … Officer,” Tiger gave him one last look of understanding before stepping forward and passing through the scanner. He couldn’t call the thing “sir.” Something in him just wouldn’t let him. Hell, “Officer” is probably better than he usually got called on most days. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty afterwards.
“Sorry about him,” the asshole at the scanner was saying as he nodded his head toward the creature that had just let him pass, probably against whatever better judgement it had. “We didn’t have a choice in the matter. We got stuck with him.”
“No problem,” Tiger replied, trying to act nonchalant, as if there had been no issue at all. He really wanted to get gone before there was one.
But the cop wasn’t through. “We had a good K-9 unit. A good cop … a real cop … you know what I mean … like me and you. With a good dog. And some genetics company came up with that worthless piece of crap … two in one, they say. One of them does away with a cop and a dog.” The cop sighed. “What the hell is this world coming to?”
So that was it. The cop hated the thing because it had replaced his buddy in what management always referred to as