Roog

"Roog" is a short story by author Philip K. Dick. It was the first work he sold, but not the first published.

Story

"Roog" tells the story from the point of view of a dog named Boris, who observes his master's carefully stored food in containers outside of their house day after day. Unbeknownst to the dog, these are the human's trash cans for garbage. The dog is later horrified to witness some food being 'stolen' by other humans--trash collectors or garbage men. The dog comes to know these thieves as 'Roogs', and tries to warn his masters of each 'theft' with cries of 'Roog!' 'Roog!'. The humans, unable to comprehend the hound's message think the dog is just being rowdy. Thus they attribute the sound the dog makes to be the sound that all dogs make when they are excited: 'Roog!' 'Roog!' The tale concludes with the animal being somewhat distraught, barking "ROOG!" very loudly at the garbagemen before they make off once more with trash in their garbage truck.

Publication

Dick originally wrote this short tale during November 1951, and it featured in Fantasy & Science Fiction in early 1953. During this time Dick worked in a record store. In an essay prefacing a collection of his short stories published in 1978, Dick recalled the story's gestation, as well as discussing its plot, its general themes and his reaction at the time. Dick relates that he contacted Anthony Boucher, a sci-fi/fantasy publisher, editor and fellow writer whom Dick recalls as a kind friend. Dick wrote, "Without [Boucher's] help I'd still be in the record business. I mean that very seriously." As a young man, Dick was very pleased with the publication, and wondered if he could quit his job at a record store and work full-time as an author, the older Dick (27 years on) dismissed that as delusional.

Soon after "Roog"'s original publication, Boucher attempted to get it published once more, in a sci-fi anthology being compiled by a person Dick refers to as "Ms. J.M.". However, she disliked the story, finding it obscure and hard to understand. She also criticized Dick's description of the garbagemen as inaccurate, apparently unable to see that the description is from the protagonist dog's perspective. Despite Dick explaining the story in a letter to J.M. regarding the themes of the work, she rejected the story. Anthony Boucher, however, proceeded to publish it, and it remains in print today, at one time even appearing in a high school literature textbook.

Trivia

*The dog in "Roog," Boris, was actually based upon a real life dog called Snooper, who belonged to a friend of Dick's. Snooper became very alarmed every time the garbagemen arrived to pick up trash, and this inspired Dick to write the short story.

*Dick regarded "Roog" as "quite a serious story," despite its superficial humor. Dick explained in the introduction to "The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick" that "Roog" "tells of fear, it tells of loyalty and of obscure menace."

External links

*isfdb title|id=58240|title=Roog
* [http://www.philipkdickfans.com/pkdweb/roog.htm Part of Dick's 1978 essay on Roog]