Man's Best Friend 2

Transporting a dog up a ladder was an interesting challenge for Don, regardless of how little the puppy might be. Fortunately, it was exhausted from the panic of zero gravity and the stress of the shower, so he was not forced to contend with squirming and struggling.

It did let out a pitiful yelp as he squeezed it, evidently slightly harder than the pup was comfortable with. Don was rapidly learning the limits to physical actions this dog would tolerate without complaint.

The jerking and jostling as Don moved his free hand to a higher rung was one such tolerance.

Upon getting his head into the cabin of the Noah, Don placed his charge on the floor.

The pup promptly walked over to a corner and collapsed, quickly falling to sleep on the floor.

"What is it?"

ARC had waited for Don to take a seat before asking the question.

"My present and our new passenger. It's a dog."

"Is that what dogs look like? I was under the impression that they were larger."

"It will get bigger, still a puppy - infantile dog - at the moment. Do you think we have the capability to care for it?" Don was greeted by the momentary silence of ARC 'looking' for something in its colossal database.

"If it was just a matter of procedure, I feel that we as a team would be perfectly capable of caring for and training it. I feel we would be limited by hardware at the moment as we have no methods of entertainment or incentivization for it."

"Well maybe the hardware we might need is in that pile below us. Do you have any way of lowering the Noah down to a point where I can just lift it in?"

"Unfortunately I am not permitted access to the Carrier's system's. However, there is a hoist that can be used to lift bulky objects into the cabin. Would you like to use it?"

"Please."

His request was followed by a pop and hiss originating from the ceiling above the ladder, which attracted a surprised look and alert ears from the drowsy pup. It was less of a classic rope and hook hoist and more of an elevator, the portion of the ceiling fitting perfectly into the hole for the ladder. A welcome consideration for the items hat might not react well to having a hook attached to them.

It dropped to a point level with the floor, the platform's dimensions clearly distinguished by the fact it was colored red. Don took the hint and stood neatly in the middle before it resumed its descent.

Don had the impression of ARC being supremely considerate further reinforced.

Once he was down on hangar level, it was a simple matter of loading as much on as he could. That being said, there wasn't too much.

The smallest objects were a pair of bowls. He found it strange that they did not nest, but he figured their considerable mass might be a factor in this. Given the bottom made of a high friction material, he assumed this was an intentional design decision to increase the force of friction the bowls could exhibit.

Two bags populated the floor.

The first was the same sort of bag that servicemen were permitted to carry personal belongings in for their tour of duty. Officially called 24 Liter Personal Container, it received the name from the dimensions it boasted. Being 100cm x 80cm x 30cm by external measurement, it came neatly to 24 liters of volume.

The bag could be used in a variety of ways. Detaching the straps would allow it to fit into a cavity much like a drawer. It could be hung from a wall if you clipped on certain attachments, and the rigid internal walls could be removed to make it collapsible. Easy to store, easy to store with, it frequently received the highest ratings in equipment satisfaction surveys, the only competition being the service uniforms.

The second bag was a fair bit bigger. Unlike the rigid dimensions of the Personal Container, this bag was lumpy. The text on the bag demarcated this as being an 'educational incentive.'

They were dog treats.

The other two objects were what appeared to be a rolled up mat and a black cube that came to about knee height.

Don had no clue as to what these were, but they were probably things he needed.

As the lift started going up at a steady rate, Don started to read the booklet that was placed atop the treat bag.

'How to Make a Space-Hound: A Comprehensive Guide to Training a Puppy Properly'

He only managed to read the opening paragraph before he reached the top, a bunch of flowery words that basically just thanked a few institutes and government departments for their insights, time, and research into dogs in space.

Unloading was quick, he basically just had to push it off the platform. Before getting it all organized, he moved to the cockpit to scan all of the booklet pages for ARC's convenience.

"Were you aware that dogs have breeds?" ARC's question came out of the blue.

"Vaguely. Why?"

"Apparently this dog is a German Shepherd, a breed lauded for it's intelligence and loyalty."

"Neat, how do I train her?"

"Have you given her a name? Going forward will be very hard if it does not know it is being called."

"I have not yet, do you have any ideas?"

"I have identified a pattern of naming pets. Would you like me to list a few as you work on setting up the dog's equipment?"

"Sure. I don't exactly have experience with this."

"Very well. Brick?"

"That doesn't fit for a female. She isn't built like a brick either."

"Noted. I will take this into account for future names. Kelly?"

"Seems too bland." Don got back to reading the manual. It appeared the very first chapter had to do with setting up that green mat and black box.