Joseph Samachson

“ Anthony opened the door again, to find that Small had slipped out and was poking with interest in his mind and a stick in his hand at the body-half of the shattered animal. Anthony grabbed him and carried him in. When they had bolted the door again, Alice fell into a chair. "That child gives me heart-failure a dozen times a day."
"That's what kids are for," said Anthony. "About that thing I killed—I've heard of them, but I've never seen one before. I hope they don't turn out to be common around here."
"If one finally found its way to us, others will, sooner or later." ”

“ Tunneling under the concrete foundation of the house was a badgerine whose presence Alice had not even suspected. But Anthony had no time to tackle it, for the other animals were quickly upon him. The first to arrive were the snaffles, and both Anthony and the engineer with him aimed and shot in a hurry. Anthony's target fell apart as scheduled. The engineer's kept on coming, but fortunately overshot its mark, for its intended victim had fallen to the ground.
Anthony swung his gun around, knocked the snaffle into the air, and fired right into the middle of an octerocap rushing at him. ”

“ Alice herself killed a snaffle which tried to get into the house through an imperfectly barred window. The explosive gun was a great success, blowing head and most of the neck to bits with one shot, and knocking Alice to the floor at the same time by means of the recoil. She was bruised for days, and from that moment she lived in almost as great terror of the gun itself as of the animals outside.
In the month that followed, Anthony sent a cable each week, and received no reply to any of them. The number of animals that prowled around the house increased almost daily. ”

“ If Tapling had only sent us a modern catalogue—"
"I like him," announced Small suddenly. "Is his name Rover?"
"Absolutely."
"Will he knock me over again?"
"Of course not. That was just an accident."
"Are we going to keep him?"
Anthony looked at Alice and grinned. "I don't think we have any choice in the matter. It's a question of life and death."
"But not in the house," said Alice. "There's no room for him in the house. And he'll be quite safe outside."
"I'm afraid not," said Anthony. "He's strong, but as a pup he's still delicate. Very susceptible to virus infections." ”

“ We want a dog that's kind and affectionate with a child; tough, adaptable, a good hunter; and easy to care for. There are several that seem to fit the bill, but of course it's hard to be sure from a catalogue alone. And a lot depends on the individual dog, too. Why not tell the Dog Breeding Station what we want, and leave the final choice up to them?"
"But we're not sure—"
It was at that moment that for the first time there came a scratching not at the door, but at the shutter.
Alice looked at her husband and her child, and then hugged the latter closely. ”

“ Dealing with a planet where the sunlight was weak and ultra-violet was obtained chiefly from artificial radiation, a planet where the air was so cold that no one went outdoors unless he had to, T. I. Tapling had been worried about living space and had generously allotted to each engineer and his family territory uninhabited for a couple of miles in every direction. Possibly he expected them to grow vegetables next to their houses. Apparently he had no suspicion that he was making things as easy as possible for the predatory animals.
And of all locations, Anthony and Alice had the worst. ”

“ Alice stared at the monster. "Good heavens, how big is he, anyway?"
"Seven feet at the shoulder, and weighs 2000 pounds. No wonder he could handle those animals, even though he is a pup."
"A pup!"
"Four months old. Two months when they shipped him out. It seems that the catalogue That Idiot Tapling sent us is a little out of date. In the past few centuries they've bred new kinds of dogs, entirely different from those they used to have on Earth. They've got them small enough to fit into a thimble, and big enough—well, as big as this one will be. ”

“ Anthony nodded. "His kind catch cold very easily. After he grows older, of course, he'll be different. He'll be able to sleep outside, if you make him a chest protector. The chest has to stay warm. You used to knit well, Alice." ”

“ It may make you feel better to learn that they're not poisonous."
"It doesn't make me feel better in the least. They're horrible anyway."
"Well, how about getting a dog?"
"Send away for one—at once. Any kind, so long as it will kill these terrible things." ”

“ Now she could hear it whine, and, despite her knowledge that the gesture was an idle one, she could not help once more feeling the bolt behind the door. Then she made sure that the shutters too were securely barred, although these were usually in less danger; most of the animals could not apply pressure very far above the ground.
Small was staring at her, not particularly frightened, but very much interested. Her face, she thought, must be pale through the radiation tan. Ordinarily, there was nothing timid or fragile about her, or she would never have accompanied her husband to Mars ”

“ Anthony Kidd, but would save time, according to the procedure permitted by Regulation MN37VX25, Code 2, and fill out the necessary form himself.
"Why, the guy's human," said Anthony in surprise.
"Maybe he had a dog himself once," suggested Alice.
"Whatever it is, it shouldn't be long now."
But Mr. Tapling, as an expediter, was not quite as efficient as when he played the role of obstructor. Another week passed, during which Anthony killed another octerocap and two snaffles, incurring a slight wound from one of the latter. ”

“ He'd eat us out of—"
"Dogs eat animals," announced Small. "Space Dragoneer says so in his television program."
"Small's right," agreed Anthony. "I'll bet an octerocap has eight different kinds of vitamins, one for each head. ”