"What kind of fool am I? I've never been in love. I'm just an empty shell. Why can't I fall in love like any other dog?

"Why do I have to be alone in the world? There must be someone for me. Yet, every girl‑dog looks the same to me without arousing any emotion within me," I said in an empty class room.

"Tch! Tct! You do have a problem."

"Who ‑ who said that?"

"I did."

And I suddenly saw a little chihuahua who looked like an Irish wolfhound that had never grown up. He was dressed rather strangely and had a bow and arrow slung over his back.

"Who are you?" I asked, slightly taken aback.

"I am a Roman god; a god of love. I'm the allurer of one's dreams; the attractor of the attractive to the attractiveless. Better known as Cupid."

"You don't say."

"Yes, I do. And I see that I am in the company of one who is in need of my services. Your loneliness is like a vacuum. I can feel the love and friendliness being drawn from my body."

"Great, so I'm alone. So ‑?"

"I have an offer for you. I will give you the ability to love the girl‑dog that appeals to you. I will ‑."

"Why?" I asked warily. "What's in it for you? What have I got that you'd want?"

"Don't be so suspicious. I am merely a servant of dogkind. Your desire for happiness is my command. Just say the word and I'll give you your wish." A smile glinted on the face of the dogchild, but it was a strange smile and there was something in it that I didn't quite recognize.

"Is it safe to just jump into something like this? I mean, are there any aftereffects?"

"Of course. That's the whole idea."

"Well, all right."

Then the transformation took place. He took out a golden tipped arrow and shot it into my heart.

I walked from the room and went into the halls. The first thing I saw was a blond; she had a thin, shiny tail that reached to the floor. I had seen her around often, but had never been entranced by her beauty as I was then.

As I walked past her, a long‑eared cocker spaniel caught my eye. And then a black‑furred beauty, another blond, a brunette, a brown eyed lovely; my heart fell to each of them; I knew that if they had just asked me I would climb mountains.

It was then that I knew the truth of Cupid; the deal I had made with him was worse than one with the devil. The look I had not quite recognized on his face was that of victory. I had joined the ranks of boy‑dogs under the spell of girl‑dogs: the ranks of the lost.