Billy watched the Shellian as he (she? they? it?) took in the canine area of the enormous store in which he worked. He’d never met one before, though he’d seen at least two wander into the store at some point. They were surprisingly humanoid, dark green with essentially no neck, and were what you would expect to see if the military decided to experiment with crab genes to give humans protective shells. That was the main difference, that their joints were more like crustaceans than mammals.

They were also ginormous. Billy thought himself tall at 6’1”, but Shellians averaged eight feet tall. I doubt this guy is here for a chihuahua.

Walking over, Billy raised a hand in greeting and gave a friendly, closed-mouth smile. He wasn’t sure, but it appeared the Shellian was looking for guidance on his next step. “Hi, I’m Billy, I work here in the canine section. Something I can help you with?”

“Yes. My name is K’Kree. A woman at the entrance told me to come here and someone would offer help, thank you,” he said, bowing slightly. “I am… Well, my daughter thinks I should have a dog. She knows much about them, and she worries about me. Believes I need a companion.”

That was curious. It was difficult for Billy to imagine how old the alien in front of him was, but after a brief, thoughtful gaze, there were hints at his age. Much like crabs and lobsters, Shellians had sharp points on various parts of their shells, especially as youngsters. Presumably when they grew larger and stronger, that wasn’t as important, and the spikes Billy saw were quite dulled, and the green not as vibrant as it might have once been. There were also a surprising amount of healed cracks. At least Billy found them surprising; he wasn’t sure if that was typical.

“Sounds like she cares about you,” Billy said with a gentle smile. “Dogs make great companions for older folks. Is there a specific reason she’s worried?”

K’Kree’s head slid just an inch side to side in a shake. “She worries too much. My health is fine, I’m as strong as I was when I first joined the military thirty years ago, and I have decades of life ahead of me.”

That would explain the scarring. Wow. Billy wasn’t surprised at that, though. Considering their structure, they were probably incredible soldiers. “Gotcha. So, she’s more concerned that you’re…lonely?”

“I believe so. And, it’s true, I live by myself back home, but I do like the peace. However, a companion like a dog does sound appealing. I’ve done my own research.” He looked past Billy toward the doors that led to the dogs. “My home is beside a lake and I’m fond of water activities. If the dog is to accompany me on my excursions, it must know how to swim.” He looked back to me. “And it must listen to me if I give it commands. I already purchased a highly recommended book written for non-human species on training dogs.”

“Fantastic,” Billy exclaimed. “It sounds like you’ve really put thought into this; that’s good. And how about size?”

K’Kree’s facial muscles tightened. “Large. Quite large. I could not have an animal in my home that I would be wary of stepping on or tripping over.”

Billy grinned, letting out his teeth now. He figured a natural human demeanor was fine with this customer at this point. “I figured as much. Come on, let’s see if we can find you a new buddy. Just listen to your feelings when you’re meeting them. If and when you find a dog that you believe is a good fit, you tend to know. And also remember that no creature is a perfect match because there’s no such thing. You only really get to know your dog once you return home and they’ve spent a few weeks with you, because it takes them a few weeks to realize you’re their new family.”

He pressed his keycard to the panel and the door buzzed, allowing him to pull the door open it and hold it for his customer to walk through. The barking that had been muffled a moment earlier was now the most prominent feature of the room they were in. Hundreds of dogs spanned a dozen aisles, each dog provided with generously sized accommodations.

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“How often do they bark?” K’Kree asked, raising his voice.

Billy matched his pace, needing to speed up a bit to keep up with the Shellian’s longer legs. “This kind of barking is unusual. The ones here are excited, or nervous, or playful. A dog in a home will growl or bark to try to communicate, for instance if it wants to play or needs to go outside to urinate or defecate. Or if it sees something it believes is a danger. Anyone who has a dog learns to differentiate between the barks. Like any noise animals make for communication, the barks are distinctive.”

Once they reached the other side of the large room, Billy motioned to his left and they headed down the aisle. The larger dogs tended not to bark as much, he knew, something he found amusing. Less to prove. He slowed their pace, gesturing to the dogs in nearby kennels. “Our largest dogs are in this area. None of them are purebred, of course, but most have a definitive breed that is listed on their information screen.”

“You said the dog will be my family?” K’Kree prompted, turning to Billy.

“Different owners have various opinions on that,” the human explained. “Even among us humans. But for the dog, you’re its caretaker. You give it food, shelter, a safe place to sleep at night. I’m sure you already know that they bond strongly, and so to the dog, yeah, you will be its family.”

K’Kree paused in a thoughtful way before turning back to the dogs around them. He skimmed the information on each screen, stopping momentarily. A Great Pyrenes happily jumped up onto the fence and Billy grinned, sticking his fingers through to get thoroughly slobbered on. “Hey buddy!”

“This one seems very excitable.”

“Most of them are when they’re meeting someone new. They only get out to the field to play with other dogs twice a day, so this here is the second most exciting thing they do. Well, maybe some of them get more excited when it’s time for food.” Billy motioned to the giant white fluffball. “These guys aren’t great swimmers. That one over there might be good. She’s a Newfoundland mix. They’re fantastic in the water.”

K’Kree turned, interested, and made his way over to her kennel, reading the screen. “It says she is two years old. How long will she live? I know they have short lifespans.”

“Unfortunately, larger dogs tend to have even shorter lives,” Billy explained as the dog made its way quickly over to the gate, her tail wagging. “But if she’s well cared for, she’s likely to live to ten years old.”

The Shellian leaned over to crouch on one knee, bringing him low enough to stick his fingers in as Billy had just done. She promptly started licking his fingers, tail swooping back and forth. “My daughter said dogs are…empathetic.”

“They’re extremely caring, yes. They can be amazingly compassionate, gentle, sensitive.”

“Do they…” He paused. Billy cocked an eyebrow curiously. “This one, what is her name?”

“We named her Bridget, but you’ll rename her in your language. And any dog can follow commands in any language, of course. It’s all about sounds and associating that sound with something they need to do, and they have excellent hearing.”

“Would she be alarmed if…if I were sleeping and making noises?”

Billy looked to K’Kree and hesitated for a long moment. “You mean like a nightmare?”

“Yes… My late wife, she said I could became physically agitated. I sometimes dream of…” He paused again. “There are many things in my past that haunt me. I’m no coward,” he said, this point seemingly important for him to make, “but in the night, my mind can cause me great fear.”

Oh man… I wish we could get more dogs out to veterans in other species. “She would be alarmed,” Billy started slowly, “but in a good way. Dogs have nightmares too. They whimper, that high-pitched noise they’ll make if they’re in pain, and they twitch. So, she might even realize something’s wrong. Would you be okay with waking up to her slobbering on your face because you were…agitated?”

“Oh. Yes.” He pulled his fingers back through the cage. “That would be acceptable.”

“You know, humans often train dogs specifically for soldiers after they return from war.”

K’Kree was quiet for a long moment. “I did not know that.” He fell silent again, remaining kneeling as the dog pawed at the cage door, licked her tongue through in a few times, then stopped to stare at him. “Those soldiers, are they… Do the dogs help?”

“Immensely. Bridget isn’t trained specifically for that purpose, but there are good reasons veterans get dogs, trained or not. Dogs are wonderful. Happy. You treat them well, they’ll be a friend for life, and that’s what’s natural to them. But they also have a wolf inside them. All dogs do. Everyone has heard they make excellent protectors and by that logic, they understand there are things in the world that are dangerous.”

K’Kree made a soft clicking noise that Billy’s chip didn’t translate, but it sounded like a contemplative sound. “I think I like this one. Can I…interact with it without the fence?”

Billy smiled. “We can take her out to one of the yards. Come on. She’ll teach you how to play fetch.”