Fizz and the Police Dog Tryouts: Fizz 1

by Lesley Gibbes

  First published by Allen & Unwin in 2016

  Copyright © Text, Lesley Gibbs 2016

  Copyright © Illustrations, Stephen Michael King 2016

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or ten per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.

  Allen & Unwin

  83 Alexander Street

  Crows Nest NSW 2065

  Australia

  Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100

  Email: info@allenandunwin.com

  Web: www.allenandunwin.com

  A Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available

  from the National Library of Australia

  www.trove.nla.gov.au

  ISBN 9781760112851

  eISBN 9781952534096

  Cover and text design by Stephen Michael King and Trish Hayes

  Typeset by Trish Hayes, Stingart

  www.lesleygibbes.com

  www.stephenmichaelking.com

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1 I Want to be a Police Dog

  Chapter 2 The Advertisement

  Chapter 3 The Tryouts

  Chapter 4 Here Comes Amadeus

  Chapter 5 The Bark Test

  Chapter 6 The Scare Test

  Chapter 7 The Final Test

  Chapter 8 I Must Be Dreaming

  With special thanks to Margaret Connolly, Sue Flockhart, Erica Wagner, Stephen Michael King and Trish Hayes.

  L.G.

  ‘I’m not a little puppy anymore!’ sang Fizz to the world.

  ‘I’m all grown up and ready to find a job.’

  Fizz knew exactly what job he wanted.

  ‘I want to be a police dog,’ he said, puffing out his chest.

  It would be the perfect job for Fizz. Police dogs were brave: Fizz was brave.

  Police dogs were clever:

  Fizz was clever.

  Police dogs were fast:

  Fizz was super-fast.

  He was the fastest dog at Sunnyvale

  Boarding House.

  But there was one tiny problem. Police dogs look like this:

  and Fizz looks like this: a small cute ball of white, fizzy, fuzzy fur.

  How unfair to feel so brave and bold on the inside, but to look so cute and cuddly on the outside!

  The day Fizz told his family he wanted to be a police dog they tried to talk him out of it.

  ‘No one in our family has ever been a police dog, son. We’re Bologneses; we’re show dogs and companion dogs, not working dogs,’ said Fizz’s father. ‘Wouldn’t you rather be a champion show dog like me?’

  His mother didn’t understand either. ‘You could get hurt and your pretty fur would get all dirty, sugarplum. Why don’t you be a little lap dog like your sister Bella? Then you’ll stay safe and clean.’

  ‘But Mum, I don’t want to be a lap dog,’ said Fizz, his fluffy tail drooping.

  ‘Or,’ continued his mother, ‘you could be the handbag dog for a famous actress, like your sister Crystal. She’s travelled the world three times over.

  ‘And your brothers Puff-Pup and Fluff-Pup just love being companion dogs for old Mrs Winterbottom. Plenty of cuddles and treats, you know.’

  ‘But Mum, you’re not listening. I don’t want to be any of those things,’ said Fizz. ‘I want adventure! I want to run and chase and bark. I want to bail-up burglars, catch crooks and save the day. What I really, really want is to be a police dog. I’m sure I’d make a good one. Remember the time I sniffed out the missing chew treats for Mrs Winterbottom?’

  His parents frowned. ‘Son, you just don’t look like a police dog,’ said his father firmly. ‘Mum and I don’t want you to get your hopes up in case you’re disappointed, that’s all. And besides, Ms Trunchon from the Dog Employment Department will help you find a suitable job when you have your interview tomorrow. She’ll find the perfect job for a dog like you.’

  Fizz trudged out of the boarding house and into the exercise yard.

  ‘I don’t want to be a companion dog or a show dog, and I don’t want to see Ms Trunchon,’ said Fizz, looking out beyond the boarding house gates towards the city. ‘I want to be a police dog.’

  ‘What’s wrong, Fizz?’ asked Tom Whittaker. He put down his newspaper and took a bite out of his bacon roll.

  Tom was the grounds-keeper at Sunnyvale Boarding House for Dogs, and he had known Fizz since he was a pup.

  Fizz loved helping Tom whenever there was digging to be done in the gardens or an adventure to be had. Once they had rescued puppies that were lost in the huge grounds around the old boarding house.

  ‘I want to be a police dog. I don’t look like a police dog, and Dad wants me to be like him, and Mum wants me to be like my brothers and sisters. But I’m not like them. I don’t want to be pampered and preened. I’m rough and tough,’ Fizz blurted out. He slumped down next to Tom under the shade of the old jacaranda tree.

  Tom gave Fizz a firm, understanding pat.

  ‘You know, Fizz, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog that counts.’ He took another bite of his bacon roll.

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Fizz.

  ‘It’s not what you look like that counts, Fizz, it’s what you can do. Do you think you can do everything a police dog can do?’

  ‘You bet I can! If only I had the chance to prove myself,’ said Fizz, sitting up straight.

  ‘Well then, you’ll want to hear this,’ said Tom, reading out an advertisement from his newspaper.

  ‘If this is your dream, Fizz, then you should go for it,’ said Tom. ‘You don’t know what you can do until you try.’

  Fizz thought about Ms Trunchon and the dog employment interview. Then he thought about the police dog tryouts. His skin tingled with goosebumps.

  ‘I’m going to try out!’ he said.

  Fizz woke early with butterflies in his stomach. The police dog tryouts were today at 7 a.m., and he didn’t want to be late. He tried to eat his breakfast, tiptoed past his parents’ room, and sprinted across the exercise yard and out of the boarding house gates. His head was spinning and his heart was thumping.

  This was the day he’d been waiting for.

  ‘Today I’m going to become a police dog!’ barked Fizz. ‘I just know it!’

  Fizz turned onto the main road and headed straight for the city. It was a hot and dusty walk but his feet hardly touched the ground. All he could think of was how good it was going to feel to become a police dog.

  At last Fizz arrived at busy Sunnyvale City. The morning sun was already lighting up the tall city buildings. Fizz ran down the street, dodging in and out of people’s legs. He could see the dark brick walls and clear glossy windows of the Sunnyvale City Police Station at the end of Main Street.

  But as Fizz got closer, his stomach squirmed. Something wasn’t right. He stopped and blinked. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The wide pavement outside the police station was bustling with the largest pack of dogs Fizz had ever seen. A spectacular mix of Boxers, German Shepherds, Dobermans, Dalmatians, Wolfhounds and Rottweilers – all big and barking – jostled for a place at the front of the line.

  Fizz hadn’t thought that lots of other dogs would want to try out too. His fluffy ears
sagged.

  He walked past every dog until he found the very end of the line, far beyond the door of the police station. He waited.

  ‘Hi, I’m Benny,’ said a chocolate-brown Labrador in front of him.

  ‘I’m Fizz,’ said Fizz, glancing up at all the other dogs. He was the smallest, whitest, fluffiest dog in the queue.

  ‘I know. It’s crazy, right? There must be a hundred dogs here today. What do you think the three tests will be?’ asked Benny.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Fizz. He’d been so excited he hadn’t given it much thought until now.

  ‘My dad said last year the competitors had to jump over a four-metre brick wall and land with all four paws on a spot the size of a dog bowl. Dad made me practise every day for a month. What skills have you been practising?’

  Fizz’s throat tightened. The other dogs had been training for months and he hadn’t practised a thing.

  ‘I didn’t know about the tryouts until yesterday,’ said Fizz, shaking the fur from over his eyes.

  ‘Dad wants me to be a police dog, but I reckon being a rescue dog would be fun too. What do you think?’ asked Benny, wagging his tail like a windscreen wiper.

  Fizz didn’t get a chance to answer. Two large dogs had arrived and were bulldozing their way through the crowd.

  ‘Make way for the winner!’ they shouted.

  ‘Out of the way, losers! Here comes Amadeus!’ barked a large, dopey Boxer named Bruno.

  ‘Amadeus is the next City Police Dog. None of you stand a chance!’ growled a nasty red Ridgeback named Razor. He pushed his way ahead of Benny and Fizz.

  ‘Go on, go home, you wimps,’ said Bruno with a silly grin on his face. ‘Amadeus is here.’

  ‘Who’s Amadeus?’ whispered Fizz into Benny’s ear.

  ‘No one nice. Stay out of his way,’ said Benny, pushing Fizz back into the crowd.

  Fizz and Benny saw a long shadow creep in front of them. Benny’s jaw dropped. A group of Dalmatians whimpered. Fizz’s fur spiked like a porcupine. Amadeus had arrived!

  His neck was thick and strong, and his massive chest was set between two muscular sloping shoulders. His dense fur was as black as midnight, and his eyes were cold and cruel.

  Amadeus stood tall and glared at the long line of dogs, just waiting for someone to catch his eye. He saw Fizz.

  ‘Well, well, look what we have here, boys,’ said Amadeus, pushing his nose into Fizz’s fluffy face. ‘A giant cotton ball!’

  Bruno and Razor roared with laughter.

  Fizz was tiny beside Amadeus and only a fraction of his weight.

  ‘Get a load of this fur. What’s your name? Sweetheart? Cutie? Poppet?’ jeered Amadeus.

  ‘It’s Fizz.’ Fizz shook down his fur and stretched up as tall as he could.

  Amadeus looked at him as if he were a piece of fluff stuck on his paw. ‘Your name’s Fizz? Even better! Well, Fizzy, the Miss Fluffy Puppy tryouts are next door. This line is for the big boys.’ Amadeus looked at Bruno and Razor and sneered.

  ‘Yeah, Powder Puff, this line’s for the big boys,’ said Bruno.

  Razor circled Fizz, flashing his yellow teeth. His breath was stale and hot. He and Bruno had been in Amadeus’s gang since they were puppies. ‘Off you go then!’ he teased.

  Fizz didn’t move. ‘I’m here to try out, and I’m going to try out.’

  Razor and Bruno were stunned. No one spoke to Amadeus like that.

  ‘What!’ snarled Amadeus, snapping his jaws like a pair of garden shears. ‘You want to be a police dog? You’ve got to be joking. You look more like a fluffy slipper! You’re out of your league here, Powder Puff. Time for you to go home!’

  Amadeus flexed his enormous muscles and flicked his back paws, shooting gravel at Fizz and all the dogs near him in the line. ‘I’m the next City Police Dog. Not you. Not any of you. Get it?’ And with that he pushed his way to the front, with Bruno and Razor in tow.

  Fizz watched until Amadeus was out of sight, then his tail drooped and his chest deflated like a day-old birthday balloon. The tryouts weren’t going to be easy. The other dogs were rough and fierce, and Amadeus was the biggest, nastiest dog Fizz had ever met. And worst of all, he had taken an instant dislike to Fizz!

  Attention! Attention, please!’ called a police officer in a smart blue uniform. ‘My name is Sergeant Stern and I’ll be running the Sunnyvale City Police Dog Tryouts today. Competing dogs, please follow me into the back compound. No parents, thank you.’

  Fizz and Benny followed the pack of dogs into an exercise yard behind the police station. It was a big space, with old boxes and a getaway car from a foiled bank robbery. Sergeant Stern waited for the competing dogs to assemble. Finally, all the dogs were ready. Fizz and Benny listened as Sergeant Stern spoke.

  ‘To be a police dog you must pass all three tests,’ announced Sergeant Stern. ‘The Bark Test, the Scare Test and the Chase-and-Catch Test. Fail any test and you’re out!’

  A nervous whisper broke out amongst the crowd of competing dogs. Amadeus pushed his way in beside Fizz.

  ‘You’ll never make it past the first test, Fairy Floss,’ hissed Amadeus.

  Fizz pretended not to hear. He didn’t want Amadeus to think he was scared.

  ‘Settle down, everyone,’ continued Sergeant Stern. ‘I’m looking for one police dog and one police dog only. We will begin with the Bark Test.’

  Sergeant Stern ordered the dogs into ten long lines.

  ‘If your bark is loud enough, you’ll pass. If it’s not, you’re out!’ said Sergeant Stern, pointing to the exit sign. Fizz loved barking but he wasn’t sure his bark would be loud enough.

  ‘May the best dog win,’ said Sergeant Stern, clapping his hands as he walked over to the first line of dogs.

  ‘That’ll be me!’ boasted Amadeus loudly to the crowd. ‘Watch and learn, Powder Puff. This is how the big dogs do it!’

  Amadeus took in a deep breath. His chest expanded. He gave the deepest, loudest bark Fizz had ever heard. The other dogs joined in and the air filled with a roaring noise that bounced and echoed around the yard. Sergeant Stern walked the lines listening to each dog in turn.

  ‘Pass. Pass. Too soft, you’re out. Out. Out. Out. Pass. Out. Out. Out. You’ll have to be louder than that, son, out!’ Sergeant Stern stood in front of Amadeus. Amadeus boomed a deafening bark.

  ‘Impressive, Amadeus. You’ve got your father’s voice.’

  Amadeus smirked. He came from a long line of police dogs and his father had been coaching him for the tryouts since he was a pup.

  Fizz was next. His nose was dry and his legs felt like jelly. He drew in a deep breath.

  Amadeus grinned. ‘Look everyone, Powder Puff’s about to squeal like a squeaky toy.’ Then he stomped his back foot down hard onto Fizz’s paw.

  Fizz felt a burning pain and cried out, ‘Eeeeeeeeeoooooooooooooooooowwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeccccccchhhhhhh!’

  The high-pitched screech cut through the deepest barks of the largest dogs. It seared through ears and sent dogs howling in pain. Even Bruno whined. Sergeant Stern stood still in front of Fizz. Fizz closed his eyes tight.

  ‘Excellent, Fizz!’ he said. ‘You could stop traffic with a bark like that. Pass!’

  Fizz caught his breath.

  His paw throbbed but he no longer felt the pain. He had passed the Bark Test.

  ‘That was awesome, Fizz,’ said Benny.

  ‘You won’t be so lucky next time,’ sneered Amadeus. He swatted Fizz with his black bristly tail. ‘I’m watching you!’

  More than half the dogs had failed the Bark Test, but Fizz, Benny, Bruno, Razor and Amadeus had all passed. The Scare Test was next.

  ‘I’ve been practising my scary face every day. Want to see?’ asked Benny. He pulled a hideous face.

  ‘Wow, that’s ugly,’ laughed Fizz. ‘You look like a rotten cabbage. You’ll pass the Scare Test for sure.’

  ‘Show me your scary face,’ said Benny. Fizz stuck out his tongue and went cross-eyed. Razo
r and Bruno sneaked up to watch.

  ‘Is that the best you can do?’ said Razor, pretending to tremble. Bruno laughed so hard he forgot to look where he was going and stumbled into Amadeus.

  ‘Watch it, dopey!’ snapped Amadeus. He glared at Fizz. ‘You passed the Bark Test, Powder Puff, but no one’s going to be scared of a piece of fluff like you!’

  ‘Don’t listen to him,’ said Benny.

  But Fizz began to worry. Maybe Amadeus was right. No one was going to be frightened of a little, white, fluffy dog.

  ‘Right everyone, it’s time to show me what you’ve got,’ called Sergeant Stern.

  Fizz’s muscles tightened and his sore paw throbbed. He knew he had to do something big, something different, something surprising. But what?

  ‘Start when you’re ready,’ called Sergeant Stern, casting his eye over the crowd of dogs.

  Fizz was thinking…so hard his head ached. If he wasn’t scary, he’d be out! If he failed the test, he’d have to see Ms Trunchon for a dog employment interview. Then he had an idea. He crawled through the legs of the growling, snarling dogs and stood at the front of the pack, face to face with Amadeus.

  Amadeus bared his long fangs and his eyes glowed red and fierce.

  Fizz could feel them burning deep into his eyes. He stared back bravely. And then it happened. With a flash of white, Fizz’s long fluffy hair shot up into wild hackles, like a razor-sharp mohawk. His brilliant white teeth flashed. His tail cut through the air like a knife. Fizz was unexpectedly scary.

  Razor whimpered. Bruno covered his eyes. Several Dalmatians hid behind Sergeant Stern’s legs. Benny went cold. Even Amadeus was speechless.