The Dog-Town Sheriff
All characters from the cartoon show in any of the chapters belong to CBS and ABC. The OCs in the story are all owned by me.
Chapter 1: The Birth of Brandon Wishford/Young Brandon on the Farm
It was dusk at the family-owned Wishford Horse Farm, with two mutated dogs being the ones tending to their beloved animals at that time. They were both ranchers, with the first being a male Border Collie named Austin Wishford, who was one of the earliest rodeo riders of the 19th century, as well as a female Bernese Mountain Dog named Maria Wishford, who was fond of taking care of the animals at her family's ranch until getting into rodeo as well. They both met one day when Maria nearly had a death experience with a wild bull until Austin brought him to the ground. After that, they began to trust each other and spend time together for the next three months. When they got to know each other pretty well, Austin and Maria both got engaged in the month of April, and later married in May. Sometime in August, Maria became pregnant and was expected to give birth to the infant in 9 months. Austin wished that it would be a boy, while Maria wished for it to be whatever gender it would be. Cut back to the present, where Maria had no time to rush to the hospital in the nearby Dog-Town, had Austin help her carry out her baby in one of the empty horse stables in the large red barn. When the baby came out, both the parents saw that it was a beautiful collie boy. He had the physical appearance as his own father, but he had his mom's crystal blue eyes. Maria softly sang to her baby while he cried and soon calmed down slowly overtime. When he stopped, his mother had declared the baby's official name. "Welcome, Brandon… Our sweet, baby boy…" Austin looked at his son, knowing fully well that one day the boy would grow up and be of great help on the farm when he was just at the right age. "Well kid, it's nice to meet ya." Austin spoke, bending down to see baby Brandon with a smile as his son coos. With a third family member living on the farm, life would be great for the Wishfords as well as their horses living together, and so the next five years would pass…
Five-year-old Brandon wore a white shirt with blue overalls, happily giggling as he walked with his mother to go see the horses grazing on the fields. The month was April, with the flowers in the background blooming in different sorts of colors and designs, and as a bonus, the weather wasn't as brutal in the springtime. Brandon really loved horses just like his mother, but the little collie farm boy wanted to be just like his father, riding bucking horses in rodeos someday as well as riding calm horses back at home by himself.
"Nice horsey," Brandon spoke with a cutesy voice as he fed a black and white Clydesdale horse a carrot. His mom picked him up so he could get high enough to feed the horse.
"Yes, he really is nice, Brandon," Maria smiled, seeing her son happily interact with the horses. Right now, Austin wasn't home yet since he was at the town meeting up with friends or just selling some horses from his farm to anyone in need of one. "It'll be a while before your Poppa gets home. Mind helpin' me with a few chores, Brandon?"
"Okay, Momma." The young collie didn't complain about that, since life for a farm boy wasn't easy. He turned to the horse and spoke, "Bye-bye, horsey. I'm gonna help Momma." He went over to help his mother with the flowers, since some needed to be planted in, or some weeds had to be pulled out. Not only was taking care of the horses that important, but the flowers were too. It wasn't too rough, since Brandon wore gloves to help his mom pull out the weeds or place the flowers inside. When Brandon wasn't busy with chores, he would be either spending time with the horses but with the parental supervision of either his mom or dad, or he would be homeschooled in the farmhouse with his mother. The young collie was nervous of the outside world, as well of his own town, but it would take some time getting used to it slowly, step by step. When it was possible, Brandon would no longer be afraid to step foot in Dog-Town, home to the town's annual rodeos held each year.
Five more years had passed, as Brandon was now 10 years old. It was at the time where Austin considered his son to be "of age," believing that it was time that he tackled the tougher chores now that he wasn't that young anymore. But aside from feeding and taking care of the horses and even helping his mom with the flowers, Brandon was given a big opportunity when he became 10. His father would allow him to have his very own horse.
"Brandon, I believe it's time that ya got yourself a horse." Austin began after he told him about the chores he would soon work on someday, "Pick out any one ya like."
"Really, Pa!? Aw gee, thanks!" Brandon jumped up and down with joy, excited to choose his very own horse for the first time. He and his Pa went together to the barn, browsing through the many horses they kept in their stables. Eyeing at one of them, Brandon pointed at a brown Appaloosa colt, who was just about 2 years old. "How about that one, Pa?"
"Hmmm… This here's Brisket. I just worked with this fella a few weeks ago at a friend's ranch and bought 'im. You wanna try workin' with the horse?" Austin asked Brandon if he wanted to train Brisket.
"Sure thing, Pa!" Brandon barked with glee, reaching his hand out to Brisket as the horse stood up and walked over to the young collie. He pets the top of his forehead and smiles, "Good boy, Brisket. We're gonna be mighty fine friends, you and I."
The first few days of riding Brisket was not as easy as it seemed, since Brandon got bucked off the horse a few times each day. But as he tried again on the third day with his fourth attempt, after watching his father ride bucking horses in rodeos, Brandon imitated his father's moves to ride out Brisket until he finally slowed and cantered around in the corral. After those attempts, Brandon finally gained the horse's trusts he now had an equine companion to ride him around wherever he went, be it on the farm or at the town.
Still being homeschooled, Brandon asked his parents if he could go into town and train with the other youngsters interested in rodeo. It took some time for them to think about it until Austin said yes. Despite the past injuries the old rodeo champ had taken back in the day, he believed it was time for Brandon to follow in his footsteps since he had the potential and courage of a good rider. Brandon saddles up Brisket and mounts on top, guiding him to town with his father following along on his own horse, Rusty.
"Yahoo! I can't wait to learn more about rodeo!" Brandon had cheered as he steered his horse by the reins gently. When father and son rode to town, little did young Brandon know what would happen on the very first day…
End of Chapter 1
Coming Soon, Chapter 2: Confronting Fear/Brandon's Teenage Years
Author's Notes: This is my very first fanfiction that I've ever written in my whole life. I have a friend of mine here who also loves Cowboys of Moo Mesa, and I am planning to also tie in with her stories with the character Brandon Wishford very soon. It will solely be focused on his early days, in which Chapter 1 already covers his life as a farm boy, and later becoming a rodeo cowboy as well as the next Sheriff of his own town. The people he'll meet along the way will be existing characters such as both the heroes, villains, townsfolk, and even possible OCs shared by my friend named Bovine Beauty. Until then, stay tuned for the next chapter!