The dogs in Hyrule Castle Town are a deeply beloved part of Ocarina of Time, bringing a lot of life to the city despite not being interactable NPCs. Especially at night, having dogs running about is a great way to bring energy to a town that is otherwise asleep. During the day, you can find a woman playing with her dog, bragging about how wonderful of a dog he is. This dog is named Richard, and is a famous dog of Hyrule! Well, at least, he is considered so by his very loving owner.
When night falls on Castle Town, unfortunately, Richard will get lost and his owner will be unable to find him in the sea of dogs wandering around. If Link goes to her home, she will beg Link to bring him home. Unfortunately, she is very aggressive if Link accidentally brings the wrong dog, calling it a mutt and calling into question Link’s sanity for ever thinking that dog could be Richard. Of course, once Richard is properly brought home, she is elated and thanks Link with a shiny Heart Piece! Link can repeat this little quest to gain some extra Rupees as well.
When Link travels into the future using the Master Sword, he will be able to find Richard’s owner as one of the few Hylians that survived Ganondorf’s hostile takeover of Hyrule Castle. She’s taken refuge in Kakariko Village, much like the rest of the Hylians from Castle Town. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for poor Richard. It seems that sometime in the seven years since the time when Link could have Richard follow him around Castle Town, he has sadly passed away. His owner remembers him quite fondly, though, saying that she’s shocked by people who don’t know him because of how famous he was.
This is one of the Heart Piece quests that I personally loved the most in Ocarina of Time. These little side stories in the world of Hyrule brought so much life to the series, and having something substantial like a Heart Piece waiting at the end felt so rewarding! It’s something I somewhat miss now in the more modern Breath of the Wild titles, as I feel the cute side missions like this are less appreciated due to the rewards feeling less important. In any case, I’m glad that Richard and his owner exist and am grateful for the depth they bring to Hyrule’s Castle Town!
