Fifteen Dogs

Honestly, should have known as soon as I realized the gods placing the bet were Olympians/of the Ancient Greek pantheon, that this would have a tragic tone. As much as one might expect introducing a human-analogue consciousness into the minds of dogs would at least make things complicated, I think this was the bleakest possible interpretation of the premise. 
There is a quality to the writing that might lead me to consider picking up another work from this author, but I'd want to make sure it wasn't this dark. 
⚠️animal cruelty/abuse, animal death, SA