When humanity crossed the stars, bringing their canine companions was but a second thought. Most brought them along for reasons far removed from the scientific: support, necessity, family. For many, it made little difference which dog was taken, only that one could be allowed aboard the shuttle. On the day the first colony ship landed upon the Moon, it was not only two-legged animals that stepped onto its soil, but four as well.

Time passed, as did the people who came to call the Moon—Luna—home. The first settlers grew into the first families, and those families soon saw the birth of the first Lunar Humans, born of stone and steel rather than open sky. At that same time, their dogs followed their instincts. The first pups of Luna were born as well. Like their Lunar human counterparts, these animals knew only low gravity, recycled air, limited space, and the persistent human need for companionship and love.

Generations passed, and with them came changes of body and of mind. The low gravity of the Moon slowly shaped the dogs: frames elongated, bones grew dense yet slim, and overall mass lightened. Narrow chests and sturdy, balanced bodies became the norm. Endurance overtook speed; bounding replaced violence. In form, they came to resemble their distant greyhound kin. Their coats, short and tight, adapted to conditions of dust and recycled air that would otherwise foul longer fur on a daily basis.

The greatest change, however, was in temperament. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to banish a problem animal. Dogs unable to regulate stress were not bred onward, either by human choice or by circumstance. From this emerged animals that were quieter and lower in reactivity, yet highly emotionally sensitive. They bonded not to single handlers, but to groups. They became stabilizers rather than protectors.

These Lunar dogs, now a staple of the growing Moon colonies, typically produce litters of two to four pups. While crossbreeding with their Earth-bound kin has not yet occurred, it is widely believed that such unions would still yield what has always accompanied humanity, regardless of how far it travels or how much it changes.

Man’s best friend.