Birthday gift for  wotokay
Three burglars attempt to steal a prized Australian Shepherd, only to find a guardian spirit that makes sure the dogs to not come to harm.

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Alexander goes around his large mansion, checking all of the lights and then goes down to his kennel to check on all of his dogs. Satisfied that they are all present and accounted for, he heads back upstairs and goes to sleep. Meanwhile, a black van cruises down the road and comes to a slow stop in front of the mansion, and its lights and engine shut off. The back doors open and three men wearing dark clothing and masks exit the van and approach the side of the mansion.

“Alright, we scale the fence here, cut the power, then go straight for the kennel. Once we have the dog, we bolt. Got it?” One of the masked men lays out the plan again to make sure everyone is on the same page, and the other two nod, then make their way towards the tall fence. The second thief takes out a kit with a rope, ties a noose and tosses it up to the fence. After a few attempts, he hooks the rope onto the fence and pulls the noose tight, then begins climbing. The other two follow behind and are soon on the inside of the yard. So far, no alarms have been tripped, and they simultaneously sigh in relief, then continue to the door to the kennel.

One of the men kneels in front of the door and opens a toolcase, taking out a set of lockpicks, and starts going through each of the tools, working on the lock on the door. It soon opens, and the three step inside. As soon as they turn the lights on, the dogs all begin barking. The three rush to find Jonesy, the prized Australian Shephard that has won many past dog shows and is worth as much as a classical art piece. The barking continues, and then stops suddenly. The three burglars stop what they’re doing and each listen in to a different direction, not noticing the fur growing in underneath their clothes.

Soon, the fur becomes too thick to ignore and one of them takes off his shirt to reveal a thick coat of black and brown fur. “What the fuck?” He shouts, no longer caring about raising alarm, but more concerned about the fur spreading all over his body, and he looks at his hands which are shifting under his gloves. His fingers are cramping as he struggles to get his gloves off just in time to see them covered in fur, and his fingernails lengthening into black claws. His thumbs shrink away, becoming nothing more than dewclaws. The other two take off their shirts as well to reveal another one with black and white fur, and the third now bearing dusty yellow fur.

The three can hear much more clearly, not that there’s anything to hear in the quiet house now, as their ears all stretch upwards and move to the top of their heads, two of them with their ears growing wider and then flopping over after being covered with fur. They then feel a sharp pressure in their back as their spines reshape and they are forced onto their hands and knees. Just as they fall forward, tails sprout from their pants, growing long and fluffy. Their legs compress and shorten, as their torsos thin and bodies begin to shrink into what’s left of their clothing, then heels rise upwards. They all struggle to stand back up and run out, but stumble onto each other as they lose their balance and their feet grow longer, toenails sharpening into claws. One of them calls out for help, now wishing the cops or someone would come around, but all that comes out is pained yelping and whining as the men’s jaws stretch forward and narrow into canine muzzles.

Noses turn wet and black, as they begin to smell everything in the kennel much more clearly now, and a look of panic crosses their eyes as they turn dark hazel in color, save for one of them who has bright, shining blue eyes. They scramble as their changes finish and try to get to the door but it won’t open, and soon they stop as they hear footsteps approaching.

Down the stairs comes Alexander to investigate the source of the ruckus the three have made, and looks surprised to see an Australian Shephard, a German Shephard, and Golden Retreiver all out of their cages. He finds it odd that they got out, but nevertheless leads them into crates that were not there before tonight, double-checking the locks on each of them. He then gives each of them some pets, then goes over to the phone in the kennel and calls the police to report a possible break-in, after finding strange clothing and burglarly tools on the floor of his kennel.
The police arrive and quickly secure the house. Alexander answers a few questions, but ultimately no trace of these burglars are found. The clothing and tools are collected for evidence and Alexander goes back to bed after checking the crates again to make sure they are all locked, and begins to make plans for the three dogs that, as far as he knows, he acquired recently in an estate sale.

In the kennels, there is a child that was not seen during this entire debacle. He goes over to the prized Australian Shephard first and gives it a few pets, whispering to it, “Don’t worry, nobody will touch you.” He then goes to the three new dogs and tells them, “You thought you had an easy payday ahead of you, but now you can make money for dad.” The child then vanishes, and the house falls silent once more.