Hounds of War

1944.  The Second World War is drawing to a close. In desperation to win, Nazi Germany extracts a serum from fragments of a meteorite that fell to earth ten years previously into the Soviet Union and was stolen by the Nazis during the Battle of Stalingrad.

An examination of the serum reveals that it appears to be a protein molecule of extraterrestrial origin then, when injected into a living creature, causes an increase in strength, speed, and intelligence.

But, much to the disappointment of Hitler and his underlings, the serum, when used on human test subjects, results in a rapid decrease in intelligence, resulting in an eventual persistent vegetative state.

Still seeing potential, Nazi scientists attempt to refine the serum by going back to animal tests. The first test subject is a female German Shepard dog named 'Maria'. Much to the surprise of all involved, Maria quickly develops increased strength, speed, resistance to injury, and--most shockingly--human-level intelligence and the capacity for speech.

Even more shocking, Maria also developed a conscience and, with the help a sympathetic scientist, escaped into Allied territory with a sample of the serum and several documents.

Upon reaching Allied territory, Allied scientists were prepared to dissect Maria, but were stopped when it was revealed that the serum had mutated into an airborne virus, infecting both humans and other dogs alike.

By 1945, as Nazi Germany surrendered, dogs around the world began to develop human-level intelligence and the capacity for speech, upsetting the world balance as the virus' human victim mentally regressed.

By 1946, the virus had burned itself out, but the damage was done, hundreds of humans were left at the mental age of infants and hundreds of dogs were now capable of understanding their place in the world and that human law saw them as property. To make matters worse, the viral mutation became transferable, resulting in some dogs who could be considered carriers passing on the mutations to their offspring, resulting in whole litters of puppies being born with human-level intelligence.

As animal rights groups gained momentum, the newly-formed United Nations responded by forming the 'Strategic Scientific Reserve' or 'SSR', whose purpose was to catalog and monitor all 'plus ultras' as the affected canines became known.

Modern day  More to come''