Pet Detectives Jed and Hughie, hired by Mrs Neville to find lost cat Misty, prepare a search. Desperate for a dog of his own, and tired of playing fetch with Hughie, Jed has raised the fee from five to twenty dollars.
Jed, near a recently sold house, finds Misty's collar. However, the door is locked. Round the back, he finds a heap of several pet collars.
He peeks through the patio door. In the kitchen a man dishes up a lump of raw meat with added condiments. When the man goes to answer the phone, Jed sneaks in, and finds the fridge fully stocked with raw meat.
Upstairs, the man puts down the phone. As Jed flees through the patio door, his shirt is snagged on a loose nail. Just in time, he breaks free.
...
His mother, Ellen, incredulously dismisses Jed’s outlandish report.
That night, from his bedroom window, through a camcorder, Jed observes and records the uncurtained window of the newly bought neighbouring house. He sees what appears to be the suspected pet butcher convulse and groan. For a closer view, Jed inspects the monitoring television screen, on which the man falls from sight. When he rises, his face is that of a grey, leathery beast, with wild hair and a snarling canine maw.
In terror, Jed calls for his mother. She chides his spying on their neighbour. Jed rewinds the camera, but the filmed footage of the window shows no werewolf.
The next day, Jed and Hughie consult a book on shape shifting. Real werewolves, it says, are called Mesomorphs, and have a disease, lycanthropy, which may change them at any time. Allergic to red roses and pure silver, they eat small animals, but have a preference for human children.
That evening, Jed arrives in the kitchen to find his mother setting an elaborate table. Tonight, a man she met bowling will be joining them for dinner. When the doorbell rings, she excitedly sends Jed to get the door.
On the doorstep, holding a bunch of roses, is...Mr Ankers, the suspect werewolf. He brightly greets Jed.
At the table, whilst the adults make small-talk, Jed none-too-subtly ventures their guest's appetite for domestic animals. Ellen laughs this off, and offers him a bowl of yams. Jed takes this opportunity to prick the guest’s reaching hand with a silver fork. Jed then rushes to draw the curtain, revealing a full moon. On failing to metamorphose, Mr Ankers uneasily laughs off the antics. Ellen excuses Jed from the table.
While his mother and her guest go out for coffee, Jed calls Hughie. While Jed’s werewolf tests proved negative, he remains suspicious, so calls Hughie into a joint investigation.
Outside the quiet house, Hughie is reluctant to go in. Jed reminds him that as partners, they’re in this together. Jed takes from his bag a crowbar, and prises open the patio door.
In the dark kitchen, they find the fridge to be empty of raw meat. Atop a stack of cardboard boxes, Hughie finds a framed photograph. He nervously asks Jed what the suspect werewolf looks like. Jed inspects the photo - which shows Mr Ankers, with another man who appears to be his twin brother.
Just then, from behind the stack of boxes, with a ferocious growl, the werewolf leaps into view. Jed swiftly aims his camera, and takes a shot, which briefly shocks him.
In terror, the boys run to the front door, which is heavily locked. Down the hall, the growling werewolf lumbers after them. They flee upstairs. As the werewolf follows them onto the landing, they hurry to the door at the far end.
In the bare room, they close the door and barricade it with a small table. Across the room, above a bare, unsupported mattress, the wall holds several manacled chains. Hughie picks up a dog's chewing bone: they’re in the werewolf’s bedroom.
The door rattles. the boys pull frantically at the mesh wire which covers the window. As Jed attempts to prise it open, the door opens. The werewolf approaches. Jed then has an idea: he takes out his dog whistle, and blows. The werewolf howls plaintively; holds clawed paws to his ears, backs into a corner, and sinks to the floor.
In the doorway arrives Mr Ankers, who introduces the werewolf as Gordon, his brother. Hughie decides to call it a night, and bolts. As his brother strokes his canine fur, Gordon pants contentedly. Lycanthropy, explains Mr Ankers, is a terrible disease - but Gordon is the only family he has.
Ellen then arrives, and gently explains to have been told of the situation. Jed nervously asks if werewolves really eat kids. Rumours, Mr Ankers assures him. Family takes many forms - such as caring for a debilitated sibling. Gordon gives a fanged smile. Jed returns the smile, and states a need for Gordon to break his pet-eating habit.
Shortly afterwards, narrates Frank, they all moved in together. During an evening barbecue, Jed and Gordon enjoy a game of fetch.
As Frank closes the story, Gary announces an anniversary surprise. With the fire nice and hot, he produces a barbecue fork: it’s time for some roast Frank - as in roast franks, giggles Kiki at Frank’s unease, holding up a string of frankfurters.
This episode provides examples of:
- Dark Is Not Evil: While Gordon the werewolf is initially scary, he’s just a man with a metamorphic affliction - who proves to be a nice person, and doesn’t eat children.
- Defanged Horrors: Gordon is actually a nice person who doesn’t eat kids.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: While the "bad" part is subverted, the werewolf cherishes a framed photograph of his mother.
- Horror Comedy: While scariness is very much present, some dialogue is quite wry.
- I'm a Humanitarian:
- While werewolves are said to eat children, this is explained to be rumour.
- Playfully Invoked by Gary, who announces an anniversary meal of roast Frank. As in frankfurters.
- Oh, Crap!:
- When Hughie deduces from a photograph that Mr Ankers, who seems not to be a werewolf after all, has a twin brother.
- The boys later find themselves to be cornered in the werewolf’s bedroom.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: According to Shapeshifters in History, real werewolves, called Mesomorphs, have a disease, lycanthropy, which causes them to change at any time, and are allergic to red roses and pure silver.
- Shout-Out: Jed’s observation from his bedroom window of suspicious behaviour through a neighbouring window may be a deliberate nod to Rear Window.
- The Unmasqued World: In this narrative, lycanthropy, while not widely known to be real, is an undeniable phenomenon. Living with someone affected by it, in this case, is simply part of a loving family life.
- Wonderful Werewolf: While he initially has an unfortunate habit of eating neighbourhood pets, Gordon later, with Jed, enjoys a game of Fetch.
