The human had two massive malamutes that required regular grooming. They washed the loose fur a second time after it was shed, dried it, fluffed it, and stored it. Several species bought the fur for projects, or lining for clothing, or for nesting material. -- Anon Guest
Human Uyn had two massive dogs which, according to hir, were "ninety percent fluff by volume". Whenever ze gave them their "weekly spa treatment", ze wound up with more fluff than dog. Carefully contained in special bags so that they didn't get into the air filters.
What puzzled Companion Zhu was that they were carefully-weighed bags of fifty Standard Weight Units[1]. Most were sorted according to their hue, and labeled with prices.
Once vacuum-packed, they took up surprisingly little space in Uyn's cargo locker. Which made Zhu wonder what possible reason Uyn might have for saving it at all.
"I mean, yeah, it could be seen as organic waste," said Uyn as ze slotted eight more flattened bags into hir cargo space. "I'm a waste-not, want-not kind'a bean[2]. If I have anything I don't need, the first thing I do is look for folks who want it. And there's a market for dog hair amongst the nesting species. It's soft, fluffy, doesn't tangle in ways that hurt little baby claws, and there's things that can get rid of the dander if that's an issue." Uyn grinned. "I do it before I pack it, which gets me extra to help feed my lovely little puppers."
One such "little pupper" was large enough for Zhu to ride, and the other one was not far behind. According to Uyn, they were still babies. They looked like monsters to Zhu. Exceedingly friendly monsters, but nevertheless well-trained carnivores at a Deathworlder's beck and call.
And, Zhu had to admit, conveniently warm when the shipboard heating unit broke down.
[1] One Standard Weight Unit or Siwu, is roughly equal to a gram.
[2] A corruption of 'being' often used to replace 'guy' or 'gal' for nonbinary folk.
[Photo by Shavr IK on Unsplash]
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