“Wanted: Subject for Medical Trial.” These words were common-place enough when it came to advertising; many medical studies looked for volunteers who were willing to test the results of any products. Said products often went through numerous tests beforehand to ensure subject safety, but the end result still required tests on actual people in order to determine any side effects that may slip through the net, particularly for certain situations. As a result, many of these fliers tended to include a list of requirements, whether it was the avoidance of certain medical conditions which could result in poor side effects, or looking for certain qualities to see the effects of the product on a certain demographic of clients.

That was what made this next part so interesting, as Russ looked over the paper held in his large paws. The German Shepherd had been drawn to the “fine print,” so to speak, and it was this fine print that had him walking towards the address listed on the flier. “Test will include the effects of food supplements and additions to see their effects on the general public. Subjects are required to have a healthy appetite, and must be aware that some minor weight gain may result.” That last bit was no surprise; anything testing food would probably be a day-long trial, and a day of doing nothing but eating would add a few inches to anyone's waistline.

It was the offer of free food that had drawn Russ's attention, the greedy canine more than happy to eat his fill... for science, of course! Whatever results they had would have to appeal to all sorts of clients, from the average to the heavy eaters, and Russ was more than happy to provide data for the latter. Besides, it was nearly lunchtime already, and as he hadn't eaten much in the last three or so hours—his small, slightly pudgy stomach let out a soft growl to indicate that it was indeed running on empty, or at least as empty as the ever-greedy German Shepherd let himself get—he was more than eager to head straight for the nearest food source, which happened to be the testing facility.

The facility was a pretty standard square medical building, boring and plain on the outside. The lab was unnamed, but the building was fully operational and there was a constant stream of people going in and out, so it was obvious that this was the right place. Many people bearing their own fliers for medical studies were entering, and of course plenty of these same “patients” were leaving, so it was a good sign that Russ had picked well in choosing to follow up on this medical trial. Eagerly, the canine hurried in, doing his best not to shove people aside in his desire to get to the free feeding that awaited him beyond the doors.

Of course, said feeding naturally came with strings attached. Paperwork had to be filled out, medical disclaimers and permission slips, etc. These were to be expected, of course, but Russ quickly filled out all the forms required. By the time he was halfway through the large stack, however, hunger overrode reason and he did far less reading and a lot more signing. The quicker he signed his forms, the faster the medical trial would begin, at least in his mind. Nevermind that the flier said he had another fifteen minutes before it started; the German Shepherd was too determined to soldier on through with the thought of food on the other end.

When he finished the paperwork and turned it all in, surprisingly, the tester was already ready for him. Not one to ignore a free bite to eat, Russ didn't even bother to question it; instead, he just followed a nurse through one of the swinging double-doors, feeling oddly like he was in some sort of oversized hospital. Though the orderly leading the way, a tall and rather well-built jackal, made it feel slightly more like he was descending into an asylum. Still, it was pleasant enough, lacking that too-strong sterile scent that seemed to plague most hospitals and make them feel that much more uncomfortable.

The two of them went down a pair of twisty hallways which, surprisingly, ended at an elevator. Russ would have expected an elevator to be at a more central location for easy access between the floors, but who was he to second-guess the architect's plans? Besides, he was too hungry to question it; he just wanted to get on to the food! That was why he said nothing while they descended down what felt to be about two floors, coming out at, surprisingly, a large open room that felt more like a large warehouse than a medical facility. Several doors opened out to the sides of the room, all closed and preventing Russ from seeing what lay behind each of them, and on the far side of the room was what looked almost like a ramp exiting the area, leading up to the ground level almost like some kind of loading bay.

Russ looked around curiously, his hunger momentarily forgotten as he took in the massive facility, wondering what they needed so much open space for. But that moment passed quickly as another loud growl echoed from his middle, and the German Shepherd quickly hurried along in the direction indicated by the orderly leading him. They passed through one of the doors, which led to another large room, easily as big as a studio apartment and then some. It was all one large room, divided only by curtains to break it up; closest to the door, there were several rolling cabinets that contained various medical devices from machines to simple supplies, likely for easy access and maneuvering in the large room.

Two men in lab coats whom Ross could only assume were the experimenters—after all, who else wore lab coats in a medical facility—were already there, talking to themselves and going over a small clipboard as Russ and his escort entered the room. The taller of the two, a lithe tiger, looked up at their approach, and gave a broad smile as he eyed the German Shepherd. There was something odd about his expression, but maybe it was just the dichromatic eyes that met his own; one green and one blue, something about that dual-colored gaze was unsettling. The feline's smile was polite enough, and he extended a broad paw in greeting as his patient approached.

“Ah, welcome. You must be Russ.” At this point the other tester, a short weasel, was joining them. “I'm Dr. Stuppher, and this is my assistant, Dr. Fieder.” The weasel gave a terse nod and went back to his clipboard; he seemed unusually jittery, but maybe that was just how he was. Russ paid it no mind, his eyes scanning the room. Now, where was that food he was promised...? Oh, and Stuppher was talking again, so he should probably pay attention to it. “You're Russ, I take it, here for the medical trial on food additives, yes?” The German Shepherd nodded at the question, hoping that the talking wouldn't take long so he could get on with the eating. “Good, good. If you read the flier, you know that you're here to test a supplement added to improve the quality and flavor of food while actually improving its nutritional value. You're here to test it to ensure that it meets the standards that the general public would like to see.”

Russ nodded, though he looked around in mild confusion. “So... am I the only patient? Don't these trials normally have multiple people to use as a control group to test the differences?” Both doctors shared a look, with Fieder twitching twice as much as before, but Stuppher was more than happy to assure Russ, stepping forward and placing a paw on his shoulder. “Don't worry about it; this isn't a test for side effects, just one to ensure the quality of our additive. Basically, you'll just be telling us how much you're enjoying the various tastes, and you're welcome to eat as much as much as you can until you're sure of your answers. Don't worry, we certainly... *encourage* you to eat your fill. We have quite the budget behind this.”

Russ's ears perked up, and the German Shepherd's grin grew as he listened. He could eat all that he wanted? Boy, oh boy, did these two not know what they were in for; though his modestly trim figure didn't do much to show it, the canine's appetite was absolutely marvelous, even for a dog. While his species was known for being pretty heavy eaters, Russ could put them all to shame, walking out of eating contests looking like he'd swallowed a small beach ball whole, only to head to work the next day with only an extra notch added to his belt and that extra lost within the next few. Giving him license to eat was going to be costly, and odds were that they only had enough supplies set aside for an average individual to intake; for Russ, he imagined that it would maybe be enough to get him mildly full, if that.

“Oh, d-don't worry!” The German Shepherd said somewhat timidly; he was eager, but at the same time he was shy about his eagerness, a small blush crossing his cheeks. “H-heh, I'd be happy to uh... inform you of the results. I like eating so...” Russ swallowed, still a little shy before the two doctors. “Uh, anyway... where's the food? I am pretty hungry...” Once more the doctors exchanged a look, but Stuppher eagerly stepped forward, while Fieder dug through one of the cabinets, looking for something. The feline directed Russ towards a bed that looked like it belonged in any hospital room, complete with the sanitary paper atop it, and had the German Shepherd sit atop it.

“Don't worry, you'll get to that part in a moment. First, we have to do some preliminary measurements and tests...” Measurements? Russ was confused until Fieder returned with... well, it was tape measure. Staring, the canine didn't get what it was for until Stuppher got his attention again. “Shirt off. We need to ensure that the quality of the food is enhanced without improving the caloric output, so we'll need measurements to compare quantity of consumption against any weight gained, to ensure that the quality is indeed lower.” The German Shepherd's cheeks reddened again, but he figured that the doctors knew what they were doing, so after a moment he wriggled out of his shirt, setting it aside. The canine's torso was pretty trim aside from a slight bit of pudge around his middle, the normal colors of a German Shepherd visible from the darker brown of his back to the caramel color of his underbelly.

Almost immediately the tape measure was wrapped around his middle, the ends meeting at the furthest point of his small potbelly, the number written down and quickly recorded. Similar measurements were done on his arms, chest, and neck, and surprisingly even his legs despite the jeans that still covered them. All of the measurements were taken in less than a few minutes, written down to be examined later, and Russ was directed towards a scale to get his weight recorded as well. The scales balanced at an even 180 pounds, a bit heavier than the average, though not by much. It was certainly enough to make him blush again; it seemed that he hadn't quite lost all that extra pudge from his last big feeding!

As he stepped off of the scale, Russ turned to see what he needed to do next, only to be greeted by a large plate being held before him. Piled atop it was a proper cache of cookies, chocolate chip by the smell of still-warm chocolate. The German Shepherd's mouth dropped open for a second, and before he thought about it, he was already reaching for one, grabbing it and stuffing it in his maw. The chocolate seemed to practically melt in his mouth, and indeed there was something about the cookie that tasted different. It wasn't a bad different, a sweetness that made his tail curl in a good way, but he couldn't place the taste at all.

It was only by the time that he grabbed a second one that Russ realized that he had simply grabbed without thinking. Mortified, the canine looked up to see that Stuppher was holding the plate, looking more amused than shocked at his patient's sudden consumption. “Well now. You weren't kidding about having a healthy appetite, were you?” The tiger chuckled and held the plate out. “Well, have at it. I was going to have to try out a few of these, anyway. It's a standard recipe, something you can find in just about any grocery store, so the only real difference is the additive. I'm sure you've noticed the difference, if your expression is any indication.” Russ nodded, so the doctor continued. “Don't worry, eat up to your heart's content. We'll just be watching here; your expressions and reactions mean as much to us as anything. So have your fill.”

“You may regret that...” Russ said under his breath, but he accepted the cookies quickly and sat himself back on the bed to gorge, setting the plate next to him. The dog quickly took several more cookies, and one by one, popped them in his maw, taking long enough to chew them and get the flavor on his tongue before they were gulped down in rapid succession. Both of the scientists actually paused to watch him down the treats so quickly, with Fieder actually dropping his clipboard before recovering it, shocked at the German Shepherd's rate of consumption. Of course, Russ hardly noticed; even as one cookie was dropped into his maw, another was coming behind the first, and so on in rapid succession. The plate began to quickly empty, and before long, it was left bare.

Russ only noticed when his paw hit tableware instead of confections, and he looked over to see that the entire pile of cookies was decimated, with no trace remaining except the crumbs on his paws and muzzle. Both doctors seemed actually shocked, and Russ could only give them an embarrassed grin as he pushed the plate away, licking the little chocolate that remained off of his fingers and lips. “Er... I did say I liked eating...” The dog just looked from one doctor to another, tilting his head in curiosity. “Uh... I hope that wasn't all you were having me test... I mean...” Suddenly realizing how forward he was being, Russ blushed and tried to backpedal. “Er... w-well, surely you want me to see how your additive works with other foods, yeah?”

“Uh... yeah.” Stuppher replied after a moment, leaning in to speak quietly to Fieder, who quickly hurried off to another section of the room. The weasel returned from behind one of the curtains only a moment later, wheeling around a cart with several different snack items on it, ranging from popcorn to chips and pretzels. All in all, there was about a half-dozen different bowls, and no doubt each of them had been treated with the same additive to improve their flavor. But Russ had to wonder how the additive worked; adding a sweetener to cookies made sense, but wouldn't it contrast with the salty foods before him? Surely sweetening them wouldn't be the breakthrough additive they were looking for.

“Ah...” The feline doctor said he motioned towards the snacks, still trying to recover after his initial surprise. “A-anyway, please, feel free to sample all of the treats we've prepared for you here. You don't need to feel inclined to finish anything, but please try and test at least a bit of each to let us know what you think of them.” Russ nodded at the simple instructions, though the rumbling in his belly had only grown more powerful as he had waited for permission to start on the next trial. After all the cookies he had just eaten, there was a noticeable roundness to the canine's belly as it protruded slightly more, but despite that, he didn't feel any less hungry. Rather it was the opposite way around; he felt *famished*!

The chips went first, two different varieties presenting themselves. Russ started with the regular brand, expecting the same sweetness that he had seen in the cookies before... only to pause in surprise, as the last thing he expected to hit him did. Though they tasted as greasy and salty as ever, the flavors were enhanced in such a way that they didn't make him feel sick, but instead made him all that much eager to chow down. It seemed that whatever this additive was, it just took the existing flavor and enhanced it enough to really draw out the best of it! Russ found himself taking large pawfuls of chips, stuffing several into his maw at the same time, sometimes even pushing more in even before he swallowed the last serving. The bowl was quickly emptied, and the next was soon pulled up as the doctors watched this act of gluttony in a mix of awe and surprise.

Next was a bowl of barbecue chips, the sharp tang enhanced by the additive and giving them a nice spicy kick to add to the smoked flavor. Russ was just as quick to tear through this batch as he was the last, barely taking the time to savor the chips even as he glutted himself. It was weird, he thought absently, somewhere in the back of his head. The more he ate, the more he wanted to eat; it wasn't just a reflex of continuous consumption, but something was just making him feel that much voracious even as more food filled his belly. But the flavor of the food was just too distracting, and Russ found himself getting lost in the taste, unable to focus on anything but getting it into his mouth.

Once the bowl was finished, however, he was forced to stop for a pair of reasons. The first was the button of his jeans; the waistband suddenly felt uncomfortably tight, and the button was digging into the underside of his belly. Pausing, the canine looked down... only to see a small mound of caramel-colored fur bulging out above the waistband. Russ blushed as he looked at how much his gut was protruding, standing up briefly to examine it, momentarily forgetting that the two researchers were still in the room. Patting his belly a few times, the German Shepherd turned sideways, trying to get an idea of just how much it was sticking out. At an estimate, he imagined that it stuck out a good seven or eight inches more than usual, looking as though he had swallowed a small basketball. Plenty of room still, of course, but Russ blushed at how much his gluttony was already starting to show; he hoped that this wouldn't impact the test!

Remembering the test suddenly, Russ's face took on a new hue of crimson as he realized that the two researchers were staring at him, jaws wide open. Realizing that he had unintentionally been strutting his broad gut about without intending to, the German Shepherd quickly sat himself back down, pulling the sliding table in front of him as though to mask just how round his middle was already. But before he could do much more, the table was pushed aside rather suddenly, and Russ found Stuppher in front of him, while Fieder had snuck around behind, the tape measure in his hands. The weasel quickly wrapped it around that waist, taking a new measurement, while the tiger was just gently prodding at that swollen gut, as if in disbelief. Indeed, who could say they got to watch the average canine's belly balloon outwards so noticeably over the course of maybe twenty minutes? Yet as those fingers gently probed at that big belly, they found that it was indeed nice and firm, packed tight.

Meanwhile, Fieder was taking notes, and for once, Russ heard him speaking in low tones, talking so rapidly that it was difficult to keep up with him. “Calories consumed times serving size against increase in waistline measurement, mass... how do you calculate the elasticity of the stomach to match food consumed...” It seemed that the weasel was trying to do calculations to check the amount of caloric intake and how it was affecting the German Shepherd's form. But even as he did, Stuppher quickly corrected him. “Ah, hold your measurements, Fieder. I think this is just solid bulk, not fat; he hasn't digested it yet. We can't get caloric counts yet.” The tiger rubbed along the exposed canine belly, his padded hands tickling slightly against the stretched flesh and fur. “No, I'm pretty sure this is all solid, huh?” He gave a soft pat to that round gut, and indeed it hardly wobbled at all.

“Well, then...” The tiger seemed surprisingly interested at the expansiveness of Russ's gut, gave it another pat. “Question, uh... Russ, was it?” The canine nodded, and the researcher continued. “If you don't mind my asking... are you normally this uh... elastic? This isn't anything strange or a side-effect we didn't account for, right?” Russ quickly assured them that this was normal, though he was a bit hesitant to elaborate on how often he gorged himself, accidentally letting it slip that this was nothing as compared to the normal. He'd probably have it all digested soon enough, if they were curious about the caloric results. However, Stuppher seemed less and less interested in the actual tests, and was more curious now about the canine's capacity.

“Well, while we're waiting for you to ah... digest...” The tiger said, looking a little flustered, but somewhat manic in his interest. “Do you mind if we do another test? Don't worry, we'd be happy to compensate you but...” The feline gulped. “Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to test your stomach's elasticity. This is just... well, it's fascinating! I mean, you look like you've got a watermelon resting in your stomach or something!” Russ's face flushed again; he wasn't expecting something so blunt from the researcher, but he couldn't deny that he was rather swollen around the middle. However he quickly nodded, especially as his stomach let out an even more insistent growl; he was still feeling incredibly hungry!

Stuppher caught the sound, however, and his jaw dropped again. “And you're still *hungry* atop that? How can that be... what...” The tiger shook his head, and he was already taking notes. “That doesn't sound right, how can anyone be hungry with a stomach as distended as yours? I'll have to continue to observe...” He looked up to see Russ staring at him, the canine's face still flushed red. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and eat as much as you want, I'm just... going to sit here and observe.” With that, the researcher insistently motioned Russ towards the remaining food. “Go on, we've got nowhere to be and a couple more hours set aside for the medical trial. Please, continue.”

Shrugging, though his face was still bright red, Russ quickly turned back to the bowls of food before him, the cart wheeled back into place by Fieder even as Stuppher indicated for him to continue. Two bowls of popcorn were next, one a sticky caramel-topped popcorn that matched the color of Russ's stretched belly quite nicely, while the other was a simple buttered and salted popcorn. Sweets before salts, the German Shepherd thought before he grabbed the first bucket and started shoveling pawfuls of it into his mouth. As always, the additive was present, supercharging the sickly sweet flavor of the caramel and setting his taste buds off from the sensation. It was almost blissful, the tastes flooding his senses, and Russ actually swayed slightly in his seat until he began to adjust to the strong flavors.

The bowl was soon finished off, and the mass of popcorn shoved into his middle made it protrude that much further. A couple more inches around now, Russ's belly was as thick around as a small keg, stuffed to the brim with plenty of food yet still possessing plenty of room to stretch. Besides, he was still hungry, so he couldn't be at his limit just yet! Indeed, the German Shepherd found no problems as he made it to the second batch of popcorn, the regular buttered kind, and while it wasn't as powerful in flavor as the caramel popcorn was, it was still plenty good, and the canine found himself doggedly wolfing down the entire bowl in barely a minute.

The last two bowls were miscellaneous snacks, a large bowl of salted pretzels and another one of those poofy cheese balls that came in the tall plastic containers. They both were very much like the regular popcorn had been, filling and still very tasty, but lacking in body as compared to the sweets. Russ couldn't help but giggle a little at the thought of “lacking in body,” because he certainly wasn't by this point! The canine's belly was protruding even further now, filling his lap, and the button had actually broken off and clattered to the floor somewhere during the popcorn stuffing, leaving plenty more room for the German Shepherd to expand. Russ doubted that he'd be able to get his shirt back on easily at this point either; while he'd be able to get it over his shoulders, the fabric would make it maybe halfway down his stretched middle before running out of capacity, if that!

Once the last two bowls were emptied, the table was wheeled aside, and Russ was subjected to examination once more. Now the German Shepherd was poked and prodded that much more, and Stuppher was far more handy, so to speak; the tiger's paws pressed firmly into his taut gut-dome, though they found more give than before as they rubbed into the swollen mass to test for firmness and fullness. Russ found himself squirming slightly, somewhat ticklish from the attention, but did his best to remain still as the researcher pulled out the measuring tape and took a new number down, as well as making a secondary note. The German Shepherd was starting to warm up to all of the attention he was getting, and though he was still a little embarrassed at how out of hand this “food tasting trial” had gotten, he couldn't help but admit that he was enjoying it.

“Mm, you're starting to digest now, good.” Stuppher said as he continued to poke at that full belly, noticing how far his fingers sank into the swelling mound. “But oddly enough, most of the extra fat that your body is developing seems focused around your belly... is that natural?” Russ nodded; he'd always been rather center-heavy whenever he overdid his eating, and though the extra pounds did spread throughout the rest of his form after a good gorging, they weren't nearly as prominent as his protruding belly was. Indeed, it was evident here; his belly was slowly softening, growing more squishy despite the taut mass behind it, while thick rolls of fat were starting to bud at his sides. Yet some extra adipose was slowly making itself present from the sheer amount of food he was eating and digesting, a little extra padding to his soft rump, a little extra girth to his thighs, and a little more curve and sag to the remainder of his lithe torso. But the majority of it was all focused in his belly.

“Heh, I-I dunno why it does that...” Russ admitted, blushing again and giving his own belly a few pats. “I mean, it all goes away pretty quickly, too... at best, I'm waddling for a few more days, and then... well. Though I normally don't eat *this* much all at once... just on occasion.” The German Shepherd let out a surprised yelp as Stuppher's fingers grabbed at one of the soft rolls of belly fat, squishing it between his fingers. The tiger didn't seem to mind as he recorded something else on an increasingly full clipboard, mumbling to himself before waving Fieder off. The weasel ducked back behind the curtain, and soon he came back with one last platter, this time with a variety of confections ranging from cupcakes to more cookies like the first plate.

Russ's jaw fell open, and his tail started wagging rapidly, setting his belly to jiggling from the motion, the sight of the sweets making him all the more eager. His belly let out an even louder grumble despite the continuing digestion adding to its girth, and he barely waited for the platter to be brought over before he had a cupcake in each paw, stuffing them into his maw with barely any mind for the wrappers, pulling them out and tossing them aside even as the enhanced cakes and frosting overwhelmed him from the moment they touched his tongue. The cupcakes were soon the target of Russ's attention, and the German Shepherd practically tore them apart in his eagerness to get them into his muzzle, hardly noticing the extra stretch going straight to his belly.

Even as he moved onto the cookies, his belly actually forcing him to lean forward to reach around it, the canine found himself as hungry as ever. Despite the obstacle impeding his progress, Russ managed to surmount the growing mountain of belly forming between him and his food, much to Stuppher's delight. He only paused briefly to sign something pressed into his paws, probably a secondary disclaimer for the new trial they were performing, and once that was done and pushed out of the way, the German Shepherd resumed his glutting, stuffing one cookie after another into his maw, the pile diminishing quickly. Much like the initial plate, soon there was nothing but crumbs remaining.

By now, Russ's belly was so expanded and heavy that the canine had to flop on his back, letting it rise above him like a large hill, even casting a bit of a shadow over him. The German Sheperd was quite belly-heavy, the thick gut so wide that he didn't thick he could make his arms reach around the far side. His tail thumped lazily beneath him, setting the various layers of fat added to his body to wobbling softly, though nothing nearly as much as his enormous belly did, like a caramel jello mold that rose above him. Putting his paws against it, Russ let out a loud groan, feeling quite full despite the hunger that didn't seem to want to go away. His stretched belly squished under his grip, the fingers easily sinking into the hefty mass, weighing down on him heavily.

“Well, I think we're out of food.” Stuppher said, sounding almost disappointed. Russ let out a whine despite the enormous weight that was set atop him, his thick belly wobbling from the motion. “I think we've gotten the information we're looking for, too. It seems that the additive does still promote a fair amount of extra weight gain, not to mention serving as a hunger stimulant in excess, so we need to figure out how to fix that. For now, though, you'll be compensated by check shortly; feel free to rest for a few moments and relax while we clean up.”

Russ sighed and sat back, rubbing at his belly and trying to ignore the constant grumbling of hunger; it seemed that it was an appetite stimulant that was responsible for his constant devouring, if his gluttony hadn't been enough in the first place! He still wanted more no matter how full his belly felt, but if there was no more food, then what could he do? Idly, he was only somewhat aware of the two researchers talking in the background, with Fieder leaving sooner than his companion, seemingly dismissed from his work for the day now that the test was done. Laying back, Russ considered trying to roll to his feet soon and get on his way back home—he wondered if the elevator could even support his weight right now; maybe he could use the service ramp he had seen prior—but before he could do so, a striped paw pressed into his belly, pinning him in place.

“Ah, ah, ah, where do you think you're going, Russ?” Stuppher said with the same grin he had given when Russ had first met him. Again, the dichromatic gaze felt eerily off, and the tiger's tail lashed back and forth eagerly. “Come now, you've only finished the first trial, and you just finished signing off permission for the second. You don't want to leave and break your contact, do you?”

“C-contract?” Russ asked, suddenly nervous, as that large paw started to rub in slow circles around his belly, occasionally squeezing a roll of fat here and there and causing the German Shepherd to blush more. Stuppher's smile only grew wider. “Why yes, you remember, don't you? The one where you agreed to the clinical trial to test your belly capacity. I may be out of prepared food, but let me assure you, I've plenty yet for my own tests.” The tiger pulled aside another curtain, grabbing a large hose that looked like it belonged on a firetruck. “And I've still got enough additive to make you fill the room, and then some.. so open up and say 'Ahhh,' Russ; it's going to be a long afternoon...”