In Montag's world, a Mechanical Hound made of brass, copper, and steel has replaced the usually gentle and friendly firehouse dog of our society. The menacing creature has "a four-inch hollow steel needle" in its mouth which it uses to inject lethal doses of morphine or procaine into its victims. The hound's purpose is to track down people who are harboring illegal books. It is also sometimes used by the firemen for illicit, sadistic gambling games in which chickens, cats, or rats are released in its presence and bets are taken on which will be the Hound's first victim.
The Hound usually lies dormant in its kennel, and comes to life with a "green-blue light flickering in its...eye bulbs" and a growl that is "a strange rasping combination of electical sizzle, a frying sound, a scraping of metal, a turning of cogs that seem(s) rusty and ancient with suspicion". It is a terrible machine, symbolic of a society where mechanization is more powerful and important than humanity.
The Hound
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