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"What made you apply for this job, Mr. Handred?" Tintin asked the man he was standing next to, watching gallons and gallons of water pour into a massive tank.

"Oh, I just liked the idea of it. I thought it was neat and I realized the importance," the man replied.

Tintin smiled. "It is rather important."

"Yeah. It is."

Tintin had been sent to write a story on the local water treatment plant that had undergone renovations and been classified as the top in the nation. In return, the man he interviewed gave him a tour of the plant, from start to finish. Though he was only partway through the tour, Tintin had grown an immense amount of respect for the people who worked there day after day, especially because they all somehow managed to get used to that... smell.

There was a sudden commotion down the road. A group of men began shouting over by a tank filled with sludge, and they seemed to be reaching for something.

"What's going on over there?" Tintin asked Mr. Handred.

"... I don't know. Let's go find out," he answered, seeming confused.

The two ran to the tank, worried that someone had fallen in. A man approached Mr. Handred.
"We found Rusco," he said sadly.

There was a pause before Mr. Handred said, "Oh."

He turned to Tintin to clarify. "We had a plant dog that we all collectively took care of. His name was Rusco. He went missing a few days ago. We thought he'd just run off, but it looks like he fell into that sludge. You can't swim in that sludge, it's not physically possible. He probably fell in at some point when no one was looking."

Tintin glanced at the dead dog out of the corner of his eye. The body was entirely hairless, and the dog's mouth was hanging open and its eyes weren't quite shut all the way. It was sprawled out on the ground, wet from being in the sludge for so long, with its legs straddled. The body was small and misshapen. Tintin's mind couldn't help but wander to a certain little white dog...

~~~~~~~~

Tintin opened the door to his apartment, dropped his bag on the ground, and wearily slumped down on a chair. Snowy padded up to him, annoyed that he had been left behind. He gave his owner a slight glare before realizing something just wasn't quite right.

Tintin lifted Snowy up and held the dog in his arms. He sat in silence for awhile, staring off into space before finally speaking.

"I love you, Snowy. Don't ever forget that."