Big Bald Man's POV

Just finishing his chores and dinner, Caleb powered on his desktop and was just putting on his headset when he heard Brutus go absolutely bug-nuts at something outside.

Sometimes it was a bird, a squirrel, or more usually a cat, but whatever it was had infringed on the Malinois’ Sovereign Territory(which was everything he could see, apparently) and Caleb was tired of it.

Heading down the stairs and out the back door of his rowhome he saw Brutus barking and straining at his chains to attack…a puppy?

Pointing at Brutus with as much bravado as he could muster “Hey Brutus, you need to chill out, my dude. It’s just a stray puppy. “

Walking over to the low wall the dog was perched on, he realized it really WAS a puppy, about 8-9 week old chocolate Lab that was wet, scrawny and looked like it had been living in a trash pile.

Doing his level best not to scare the poor thing off, he approached slowly and bent down and spoke as calmly and softly as he could. “Hey there, where’d you come from. I'm not gonna hurt ya. Let's get you inside into the warmth.”

Picking up the shivering dog, Caleb walks back into the house and heads to the laundry room. Wrinkling his nose, Caleb explains. “Sorry buddy, but you are too dirty and stinky to wash in the bathtub. Gonna rinse you off in the utility sink. What have you been rooting around in, you smell like dirt, poop, and overripe bananas.”

Setting the puppy in the utility sink, Caleb is confused as the small dog starts whimpering and trying to jump out of the sink basin. “Hold on there pal, a little warm water and soap ain't gonna hurt you, I just need to get you clean and dry. I'll give you a treat afterwards, okay?”

The dog’s only response is to bark and lick his hand. Rubbing some Jawn™️ dish soap on a washcloth, Caleb spends the next ten minutes scrubbing until the water finally runs clear. He then grabs an old towel in the ‘For Dust Rags’ bin, picks up the puppy and thoroughly dries its fur, narrowly avoiding(and sometimes failing to avoid) sloppy face lickings. “Alright alright, yer dry now. Let's get that treat, shall we?

Taking a bag of jerky out of the pantry, Caleb breaks a big piece in half and puts it in front of the puppy. “Here ya go, dig in. I don't have any dog food right now, so it's gonna be jerky and table scraps until we can get to the pet store tomorrow, okay?” Tail wagging, the dog sniffs the jerky and swallows the entire piece in one bite.

“Sweet Sunshine! I guess you were hungry. Here, have the rest but chew it, please chew your food. I don't wanna take you to the Emergency Vet.” Breaking up the other half into manageable pieces, Caleb drops them in a small bowl and places it on the floor. As C-22 snaps up the pieces and starts chewing and gnawing them, Caleb realizes he should probably have a name for the animal inadvertently thrust into his care. “I think I'll call you Hope. How do you like that?”

A few moments after eating the last piece, Hope looks up at Caleb and wags their tail even harder. “I guess you like it, let's go upstairs and get back to some gaming, eh?”

Bounding up the stairs ahead of Caleb, Hope starts sniffing *everything*, rugs, clothes, pretty much anything at or around nose level. “C'mon, now Hope, let's not be looking for a place to pee.” Walking over to his desktop he puts his headset over one ear and calls Hope over to him.

Temporarily abandoning investigation of the dirty clothes hamper, Hope leaps up onto Caleb's lap and stares at the game launcher cinematic on the monitor before curling up and going to sleep. "Finally, though I have to say, its nice to have a dog around again."

After a few hours of gaming, Caleb turns off the headset, powers the desktop down and picks up the sleeping form in his lap and deposits them on the bed while he changes. Stirring slightly, Hope looks and watches Caleb get changed and then hit the lights. "Alright, I'll pick up a doggy bed for you as well, but tonight you get to sleep with me, okay?" Sliding under the covers, he pulls Hope next to the other pillow and draws the covers over their sleeping form. "G'night Hope." A moment later his face is licked and suddenly the pile of fur is against his cheek. Chuckling, he drifts off.