Bulldog



Bulldog was initially an Easter egg in the RuneScape Knowledge Base. However, players can now have a bulldog as a pet in the new Summoning skill. A bulldog previously was seen roaming the streets of Yanille with his guardian, the Pet Shop Owner, before the release of the skill.

Initial speculation
The Easter egg was revealed by one of Jagex's banner ads in early September 2007. It informed players about the Knowledge Base, and the search feature included in it. The word "bulldog" was typed in, and the search button was clicked. Search results were not shown in the banner ad.

However, this sparked many players' curiosity, and those who actually searched for "bulldog" were greeted with an article saying "Thanks for using the Knowledge Base!" and a picture of a man walking his pet bulldog (shown here).

Jagex's wording of a Behind the Scenes article about Back to my Roots, which used the phrases, "sniffing around in the jungle" and "this quest's bark is worse than its bite" led many players to speculate that these bulldogs would be a part or a reward of this quest. However, when the update was released, bulldogs were not included.

Nevertheless, this fuelled rumours that RuneScape's list of pets would soon include dogs.

Summoning Teaser

 * Main article: Summoning

Jagex hinted that the new Summoning update would include bulldogs. In the "Summoning: Part 1 - Concept" Development Diary, it said that the bulldog animation was "previously released as a teaser linked from a banner advert for the Knowledge Base". This hint was indeed true as bulldogs can be obtained from the Pet Shops in Taverley and Yanille at level 4 Summoning.

Summoning

 * Main article: Summoning

The Bulldog is a "pet" you can purchase from a Pet Shop and use at level 4 Summoning. This is a non-combat pet and the bulldog simply follows your character around. It has two stages, puppy and adult. The bulldog eats raw meat.

Chat
At level 14 Summoning, you can talk to the bulldog.

Baby

Bulldog: Whurfwhurf, grumble snuffle whurf whurf? (By 'eck, lad, are we goin' ter be walkin' all day?) Player: Well, i could carry you if you like. Bulldog: Whurfwhurf, whurf. (That'd be grand, like.) Player: You know, you won't grow up to be big and strong if you keep getting carried everywhere. Bulldog: Whurf, whurf. (Alright, lad: I know, I know.)

Adult

Bulldog: Whurfwhurf whurf, whurfwhurf whurf. (This is right grand, this is.) Player: What? This place or what we are doing? Bulldog: Whurfwhurf grumble. (Mostly the sittin' still.) Player: You're felling lazy today, aren't you? Bulldog: Whurfwhurf! Whurf whurf Whurfwhurf! (I'm not lazy! I'm conservin' energy!)

If you talk to your bulldog with tea in your inventory you will get the following conversation:

Bulldog: [Give us a sip of that tea, pet, I'm parched!] Player: I'm not giving you tea. You might get sick! Bulldog: ['Ow will we know if we don't try?] Player: How about we just say that I did? Bulldog: [Did it work?] Player: Yes, and you liked the taste a lot. Bulldog: [Aye, it were a grand cuppa.]