Reading from the Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick, 2013, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, NY, pages 9-14

Roog is the masterfully ambiguous tale of Boris the dog and his efforts to protect his owners, the Cardossi Family, from the Roogs. The Roogs skulk about looking for open windows. They are vaguely like people but pale and cannot be seen by people. They come around looking for access to houses—to take a little bundle in a blanket away. That is bad enough. But every Friday morning they come with their big machine, eating from the garbage cans they feed into the big machine, and seeking to outsmart Guardians like Boris who are the only protection the humans have against the Roogs.

Roog is subtly crafted paranoid sci-fi/horror. It took 10 minutes to read, and it has taken me two hours to realize that I won’t be able to forget it.