I drew the door gently outward. Inside I could see three looming shapes, black in the gray-black gloom. I stood for a while, letting my eyes adjust.

To my left was a light switch. I reached out, ready to withdraw my hand at the slightest change in the dogs, but the panting continued. I flipped up the switch. Three pairs of keen yellow eyes; three powerful chests. Their coats were dry, the kennel dusty. A low, guttural, breathy sound. Tendons tight, bodies crouched in readiness. Look down, I remembered. Look to the side.

“Hey,” I said softly. “Hey, dogs.”

Bror had left them with water. They had long since knocked over the stainless steel dish, were growing desperate in the afternoon heat. I crouched down and they cowered away from me. As I reached for the dish the animal beside me licked its chops. A dry rasping sound.

I froze, but there was no malice in her.

“It’s okay, girl,” I said. “It’s all right.”

There was a sink in the far corner. They watched as I got to my feet.

I had put the dogs between the exit and me. Stupid, perhaps, but I had committed myself. I inched forward across the floor. The dogs turned to face me.

The water in the pipes was hot. I guessed that it ran through a surface pipe in the yard. I stood, facing the dogs, my finger under the tap, trying not to look them in the eye.

They were beautiful, though. Magnificent, really. Higher at the shoulder than at the hip, with heavy, muscular chests and long, slender legs. Doberman crosses, and fighting fit. Two dogs and a bitch, every nerve aquiver.

The water was cooling now. I filled the dish, holding it in two hands.

The dogs began to pace, their chains tangling each other.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Shh.”

They had their eyes on my hands. I stepped into the middle of the floor, placed the dish down.

All three dogs stared at me, as if waiting for a signal. I took a step back. Still they did not move.

“Come on,” I said. “Drink.”

The bitch approached first. She sniffed at the bowl, then began to lap, paws splayed. The larger male looked at me, then at the bitch, then pushed in beside her. Then the smaller male bent down and began to drink too.

When I had filled the bowl three times the dogs began to relax. I looked around, found a packet of kibble on a high shelf, poured it out onto the floor. The bitch and the smaller male ate hungrily. The larger male simply stared at me. I knelt down, held out the back of my hand. He sniffed it, then sneezed a surprised sneeze. He turned around twice on the floor, then lay down. When the others had eaten their fill, they joined him.

Soon all three dogs were asleep.