A Dog's New Home
August 5th, 2013
It has taken a lot of time backtracking from the volcanic regions, but I finally made it back to Ponyville in the early afternoon. I could've returned earlier in the morning, but the Labrador had fallen asleep around four in the morning, so I took that opportunity to get some sleep, too. Otherwise, I bet I would fall asleep at the wheel from a broken sleep schedule. At least I'll be wide awake tonight for my Everfree Forest patrol.
The dog sat up in its crate, idly staring out the window as we drove through the streets of Ponyville until we reached the Golden Oak Library. It looked at me as I got out of the Defender and headed for the back door to let it out.
"Try not to freak out once we get inside," I said, hooking the retractable leash onto the dog's collar. "Come on out, dog."
The Labrador refused the exit the crate. It continued to sit inside the crate, still staring at me and checking its new surroundings.
"Come on, pooch." I calmly coaxed, but to no avail.
"Maybe it will come out if I give it a treat."
I then reached into the box of Milkbones and presented a treat to the Labrador, but still maintaining my distance. This managed to get the dog to stand up, but continued to gaze at the bone. And so, I broke the bone in half and held it in front of the lab's nose, encouraging it to eat the treat off my palm.
"Pretty good? Come out and you can have the rest." I signaled with my left hand.
It took a little bit more time, but the Labrador gave in and hopped out of the crate and came to me.
"Good dog-- Or... Bridgette. Good Bridgette." I said, noticing the name tag dangling off the collar while rubbing her side.
Once done eating, Bridgette just had to get my scent and began sniffing my legs before moving on to the grass. The more she sniffed, I noticed how she appeared to be following a certain path. Of course, this lead right to the front door of the library.
"Alright. Let's head inside and meet your new friends." I said.
Opening the door, Spike was one of the very new things that Bridgette saw. She then went a series of barks that made Spike jump upwards.
"Woah!" Spike exclaimed. "Where'd you get the dog from?"
"Found him in the volcanic regions." I replied.
"Oh, I see you brought a little friend back." Twilight said, trotting down the stairs and joining Spike.
"I hope its friendly. Dog nearly scared me to death." Spike said.
Bridgette's face immediately went straight and she lied prone on the floor to the two alien creatures presented in front of her.
"Awww. She's being submissive," Twilight said as she began to scratch Bridgette with her hoof. Bridgette then started going on a sniffing frenzy up and down Twilight's neck, tickling her. "I can't say I've ever seen this kind of breed before."
"You never heard of a Labrador Retriever?" I asked.
"Never had. I don't think that breed even exists here in Equestria." Twilight replied, slightly nudging Bridgette off her.
"Cool. So she's the first Labrador in Equestria." I said.
"Right. Looks like you two have something in common already; you being the first human in Equestria and all." Twilight noted.
"You're right about that, Twilight," I said, turning to an unsure Spike. "I don't think she's scared of you now."
"She sure didn't sound like a scared dog." Spike said.
"Here. Stand over there and call her over. See what happens." I directed.
"Alright," Spike replied, walking to the far side of the room. "Uh... c'mere. C'mere, girl." he called.
Bridgette obviously knows that "girl" is referring to her because she turned and walked over towards Spike, also sniffing him as well before steadily licking his scales.
"Okay. Well, this is nice. Good dog." Spike praised, giving Bridgette a pat.
See? Bridgette's not so bad." I said.
"Probably because she's not exactly a puppy." Twilight said.
"Oh definitely. Puppies can be more rambunxious. Oh, and her other tag said that she was ten, so that's seventy years old in human years." I informed.
"We have the same method of telling a dog's age, too." Twilight said.
"Ah." I said.
"So, did you find anymore humans out there, or was it just Bridgette?" Spike asked.
"Yeah, how did that go?" Twilight added.
"Not so good. I met this crazy mare along the way, but she ran off on me. On the other hand, I managed to find more structures from my world and some stuff I decided to take back with me." I said, putting emphasis on the last few words.
"What do you mean by stuff? Like technology that humans use?" Twilight asked, intriguingly.
"I only found some of the old stuff. Not very modern, but it's human technology. The rest is just food, hygiene stuff, and Bridgette's necessities. I'll have to show you later once I get Bridgette settled in. Would you mind if I house her with us." I said.
"Well, she does seem to be tame and well-behaved. I don't see any reason why not." Twilight said, gleefully.
"All right! Looks like you got a new home, Bridgette." I said.
Bridgette looked up at me with her tongue hanging out and her tail wagged. Don't know if that was coincidence or if she understood what we said, but it was cute.
"But remember that she is your main responsibility. I'll be glad to help take care of her when you're gone, but I am not routinely clean her excrement out of the yard, FYI." Twilight said.
"Yeah. That doesn't seem like your thing, Twilight. You, on the other hand, look like you were born to clean dog waste out of our yard." Spike teased me.
"Gee, thanks," I groaned. "So, now that Bridgette is new member of the household, I was thinking we could all take a walk around Ponyville before the evening." I suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea, Caleb. That will be a great way for her to get used to her new surroundings and the ponies who live here." Twilight agreed.
"You comin'?" I asked Spike.
"You betcha', Caleb." Spike said.
"Alright, then let's go. C'mon Bridgette. We're going for a walk."
Bridgette ran to the door and hopped up onto the door, looking back at us. For an old dog, I have to say that she sure does have the personality of a puppy.