S.P.O.T.S
(Super Powerful Organization Of Terriers and Songbird)
By Franklin Young
Copyright 2012
Cover design by Marla Wolfe, cause and effect communications inc.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Heroes and Villains
Dogs Pig Out
Bad Gas and Weird Dreams
Georgie Versus The Mailman
Molly The Home Wrecker
Buck To The Rescue
Duffy's Big Steak
Jackie & The Exploding Rodents
Discovery After Discovery
Ever Seen A Flying Dog?
Who Put That Poodle There?
A Super Hero Bonding Ritual
A Super Hero Bonding Ritual - Take Two
Hairballs
Heroes In Training
How To Wake A Terrier
How To Bargain With A Squirrel
Not So Fast
A Stinky Situation
Dumpster Of Doom
Into The Store
A Meaty Trap
The Final Showdown
After The Battle
About The Author
PROLOGUE
The name of the guy driving the delivery truck is not important. What does matter is the fact that he was driving like a maniac.
And that matters because a mile up ahead, an unmarked black Army truck was pulled over on the side of the highway. The truck had a flat tire and was being guarded by three commandoes who were completely dressed in black.
Back in the delivery truck, the driver noticed a blimp hovering over the highway. Having only seen blimps on TV, the sight of a real one caused him to stare in fascination.
He kept looking up when he should have been looking straight ahead. Somewhere deep inside the speed-crazed driver’s brain, a thought was born. And that thought was a simple one - “Eyes on the road!”
The driver snapped his eyes down from the blimp and back towards the highway, but it was too late.
He slammed his foot down on the brakes, and all eighteen wheels locked. There was a horrible screech and black smoke rose from his tires as he slammed into the back of the Army truck.
The force of the collision sent his cargo flying. Some of his shipment burst through the canvas side of the Army truck where it knocked over dozens of barrels that then spilled their orange, gooey load. The rest of the driver’s shipment was spread out all over the highway where it was slowly being covered by the guck dripping out of the Army truck.
Until the situation on the highway could be cleaned up, thousands of people would be stranded in their cars, vans and trucks. All because the truck that the driver had slammed into was part of an important government operation: it had been hauling away radioactive waste from a secret research facility.
Soon, the Hazardous Materials (or “HazMat”) team would arrive to clean up the mess. But, with a radioactive spill to clean, a busy highway to re-open and an Army’s secret to protect, the HazMat team had a lot of work ahead of them. They’d be so busy over the next few hours that it’s not surprising they didn’t notice that a few of the boxes were missing.
And those boxes would soon change many lives in a nearby neighborhood.
HEROES AND VILLAINS
In the off-leash area of a park near the highway, five friends were sniffing each other. It’s not as weird as it sounds, because these friends were all dogs. More specifically, they were Terriers, and they are the heroes of this story. The unofficial leader of the pack was Molly, an old and chunky Bull Terrier. Checking out her scent was Buck, a handsome Irish Terrier who had once been a performer in a traveling dog show.
While the two larger dogs snorted at each other, their smaller friends were also getting nasally reacquainted. Georgie the feisty West Highland Terrier (more simply known as a “Westie”) was sniffing her grumpy pal Duffy. As a Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Duffy was one of the silliest looking dogs around. He compensated for the poofiness of his fur by walking around as if he was constantly looking for a fight. The smallest, youngest and bounciest member of the group was Jackie, a Jack Russell Terrier who was too excited to take more than a brief whiff of his friends. He wasn’t excited about anything in particular; Jack Russells are just always keyed up.
While the Terriers were performing their daily ritual of greeting each other, a group of dog-haters were quietly gathering nearby. These cruel and thuggish creatures were the sworn enemies of all dogs, and they would do anything to destroy them.
For they were cats, and that’s what cats do.
At the same time, dogs are also not big fans of cats. In fact, a recent survey of dogs showed that 99.9% of them would not be unhappy if a giant vacuum cleaner came down from outer space and sucked every last cat up and off of the face of the earth.
The Terriers often wondered why some humans chose to bring cats into the neighborhood. As far as they were concerned, cats are selfish, snobbish litter box dwellers. Worse, they aren’t even fun to chase like squirrels. Because sometimes cats stop running, start hissing and begin to flail their claws. And those claws can hurt. Which is just one of many reasons why dogs can’t stand being around cats.
Back in the park, Duffy was the first one to catch the scent.
“Stop the sniffing guys. We’ve got cats.” It should be mentioned that Duffy very often stated the obvious. This way, he could claim that he was never wrong.
Molly, Buck, Georgie and Jackie turned to look at the cats who were slowly licking themselves as they stared back at the Terriers.
“There goes the neighborhood,” sneered Georgie just loud enough for the cat gang to hear.
The leader of the cats - a nasty black and white named Peter - stopped licking his leg. He looked over at the dogs and let out a low hiss.
“It’th our park too.” Then for good measure, he added, “you dumb dogth!” Peter then returned to cleaning himself.
Buck shook his head.
“Didn’t your mama tell you not to speak with fur in your mouth?”
While the other Terriers barked happily at the insult, Peter turned to his huge, hairless and psychotic hench-cat Patches. With a slight jerk of his head, Peter sent him stalking towards the Terriers.
“You’re pretty funny for a bunch of ball fetchers,” snarled Patches.
“Thanks,” said Georgie. “We ARE pretty funny, aren’t we?”
Patches arched his back and hissed.
“I must have left my sense of humor at home. Because I ain’t laughing!”
He then unsheathed his claws and put his paw in Georgie’s face.
Georgie stopped smiling. Buck, who claimed to have never backed down from a fight, jumped towards Patches.
“Go ahead Baldy,”’ he said in a calm, steady voice. “Just try it.”
“Don’t challenge him!” Georgie growled at Buck. “It’s my eyes he’s going to scratch out!”
Molly shook her head as she stepped towards Patches.
“The only things he’s going to scratch are his Mama’s curtains. Isn’t that right Patches?”
Patches could sense the rest of the cats behind him. Peter, Puss Puss, Petunia and Precious hissed in unison as they joined the fray. The five cats struck a pose with their claws extended. They clearly meant business, except for Precious who looked like she was auditioning for a part in a cat food commercial.
Molly looked at her friends who were hunched down with their rear ends in the air. Their teeth were bared and they too were ready for action. She then glanced from the Terriers to the cats. All of them were
ready to rumble.
“I want the dumb one!” snarled Puss Puss who was actually pretty bright… for a cat.
“Which one?” asked Precious who then paused for comedic effect. “They’re dogs, so they’re all dumb.”
The sound of five cats laughing filled the air.
“What, what, WHAT are we waiting for?!” barked Jackie.
“We’re waiting for them to cross the line,” said Molly.
“Ummm, which line?” asked Petunia.
As far as any of them could see, there wasn’t a line on the ground.
Peter rolled his eyes. “It’th a metaphor you idiot! He meanth if we take one more thtep, the fight ith on!”
Petunia was about to ask what a “metaphor” is, but he never got the chance. It was at that precise moment that the two snarling and hissing groups of pets heard the “BANG!” of the jerky truck colliding with the secret government trailer.
DOGS PIG OUT
As the sound of the collision echoed through the park, the cats did what cats normally do in a noisy situation and ran home to hide under their couches.
“They’re running away,” shouted Duffy, once again saying what everyone already knew.
“What a bunch of SCAREDY-CATS!” joked Georgie.
“What, what WHAT was that noise?” shouted Jackie.
“Dunno,” said Buck. “Sounded kind of ominous like.”
Not knowing what the word “ominous” meant, the other dogs turned to Molly for an explanation. She may have been the wisest of the Terriers, but at the moment, she was too busy sniffing the air to be able to explain anything.
“It smells like snacks,” she said.
The five Terriers inhaled at the same time. No doubt about it, the park did suddenly have the fine aroma of juicy snacks. And when the promise of tasty food is in the air, it is very hard for a dog to keep still. So even though they may have been “ominous” snacks, the Terriers took off.
They hadn’t gone far when Molly barked for them to stop. Up above on the overpass, traffic was backed up for miles as angry drivers honked at the soldiers who had shut down the highway.
But Molly could barely hear the noise. She was busy sniffing one of the greatest scents she had ever smelled.
“Follow me!” she howled as she ran into the bushes.
Buck, Jackie, Duffy and Georgie chased after her. When they got to the bushes, their eyes and mouths popped open as they saw some of the Driver’s spilled cargo. It was a dog’s dream come true as there, right in front of them, were several boxes of meat jerky snacks.
There were smashed open cartons of beef jerky, bacon jerky, chicken jerky and even, yes, turkey jerky. That’s right, there’s actually a product called “turkey jerky.” Say it four times fast, and you’ll see exactly how silly it sounds.
The five Terriers stalked towards the broken boxes of jerky. They had trouble believing their noses and eyes - a small mountain of unguarded meat strips seemed too good to be true. The Terriers were so excited that they didn’t notice that most of the jerky pieces were coated in glowing orange goo.
“Must be some kind of dream.” Whispered Buck.
“Dreams don’t taste like this!” said Molly as she picked up a piece of bacon jerky.
Even though she lacked a couple of teeth, it only took two bites for her to introduce the jerky to her stomach.
“Oh! Oh that’s good,” she said as she picked up another piece. “What are you guys waiting for?”
“Snack. Snack! SNACK TIME!!!” yipped Jackie as he and the others attacked the jerky.
It was a Terrier feeding frenzy. Jaws clenched, boxes were shredded and mouths and stomachs were filled with every dog’s dream meal. In a few short minutes, all the jerky had been devoured, and the five Terriers were stuffed full of salty snack meats.
They didn’t know it, but they were also full of radioactive waste that was going to change them forever. Molly, Georgie, Buck and Duffy collapsed on the ground, happily clutching at their distended bellies.
“That was more than just good,” moaned Duffy happily. “That was the best thing ever.”
Georgie tried to respond, but when she opened her mouth, all that came out was a St. Bernard-sized belch. She smiled happily as she rolled onto her back.
“Hey! I found more! More!! MORE!!!” Jackie yelled.
The Terriers slowly got to their feet and waddled over to where Jackie was sniffing at another broken box of jerky.
This batch didn’t have the salty, meaty smell that drives dogs crazy. Instead, it smelled gross and dirty. Kind of like garbage, but not the kind of garbage that dogs like. No, this carton stunk like old fish. Which made sense, because it was full of cod jerky. Even without a coating of radioactive guck, no dog or human would eat such a disgusting snack.
The Terriers took a deep sniff of the uneaten jerky. Georgie gagged and almost barfed.
“It really stinks.”
Just to be sure, she took one more deep sniff.
Buck shook his head and stepped away from the foul-smelling cod jerky.
“Nothing I’m going to eat,” he said as he started to walk away.
“We’d better get back to the humans,” said Molly. “You know we can’t leave them on their own for too long.”
As the Terriers staggered away from the bushes, they looked back at the scene of their feast. This was the kind of wonderful occasion that was made even better by being shared with the best friends that any dog could ever have. They knew that something this special might never happen again.
“Good times,” said Georgie wistfully. “Good times indeed.”
Then she burped.
BAD GAS AND WEIRD DREAMS
That night was a tough one for the Terriers. Even though their bellies were stuffed with jerky, when dinner was served, they still managed to eat all of the dog food and table scraps that they were offered.
They may not have been hungry, but they were dogs.
However, the overeating made it hard for them to get comfortable in their beds. They tossed, they turned and then they released gas that was created by feasting on bad snack foods. Which means that the Terriers’ families also had rough nights.
Amidst the jerky fumes, the Terriers did manage to fall asleep. And when they did, boy oh boy, were their dreams ever strange.
GEORGIE VERSUS THE MAILMAN
The first Terrier to fall asleep was Georgie who always slept in the big bed with her human Mrs. G.. Some would say that the fact they shared a king-sized bed was a case of someone being spoiled. But Georgie figured that since Mrs. G. didn’t take up too much space, it wasn’t such a big deal to let her stay in the bed with her.
In her dream, Georgie was standing in the darkened living room watching as a large, menacing shadow crept closer to the house. Georgie’s muscles tensed and her lips curled. With her teeth bared, she was ready for whatever danger was approaching. Then darkness flooded the room as she got a glimpse of the beast that was moving towards the front door.
Georgie had never seen anything so scary. It was huge... it was relentless... it was every dog’s nightmare; a giant Mailman who carried a massive stack of mail and magazines.
BAM!!
The front steps of the house were ground into dust as the Mailman’s huge boot crushed down. His massive gloved hand slowly moved forward and tried to jam the letters and magazines through the mail slot in the front door.
BUT THE STACK WAS TOO BIG! IT WOULDN’T FIT!
Georgie’s eyes widened as she realized that the Mail-monster wouldn’t stop. He kept stabbing the stack at the slot!
Then came a WHAM! as the mail slot shattered and the door started to crack. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! The stack of mail was breaking the door into splinters. Georgie watched in horror, knowing that if the door fell, the giant Mailman would be able to come in the house and steal her food. Not just the bowl of kibble on the floor either. He’d be able to empty the cupboards and the fridge. Talk about a nightmare! A house without food?!
No way was that going to happen on her watch!
Georgie stepped forward and let out a series of barks that started loudly and quickly reached ear-shattering levels.
“RWOWF!!!”
“RWOWF!!!”
“RWOWF!!!”
“RWOWF!!!”
The Mailman tried to cover his ears, but he was too slow. The vibrations from the barks caused his head to explode.
Literally.
With his head gone, it didn’t take long for the Mailman’s body to collapse into a pile of chunks and crumbs that looked like a huge pile of crushed dog biscuits. Just to make sure that he was well and truly vanquished, Georgie walked out of the house and ate the cookie-flavored pieces of the Mailman. She then barked in triumph. For not only had she defeated a Mail-monster; she had eaten him as well.
It was Georgie’s flailing that finally woke Mrs. G.. Since she never wore her hearing aid to bed, she had no way of knowing just how incredibly loud Georgie’s barks had been. But the shattered window let her know that something strange had happened in the bedroom.
Mrs. G. looked from the broken window over to Georgie who was now half-awake and trying in vain to taste the Mailman.
“What happened here Girl?” she asked.
If you can imagine a dog shrugging, then you can visualize what Georgie did in response to the question. She was just as confused as Mrs. G..
MOLLY THE HOME WRECKER
Meanwhile down the street, Molly was also having a wild dream. This wasn’t surprising considering the amount of spiced jerky that was making its way through her digestive system. You see, when the body is trying to push out bad food, it somehow causes the brain to create nightmares. There’s a scientific reason for this, but the explanation involves a lot of long confusing words and basically means that Hungarian salami is not a good late night snack.
In Molly’s dream, a fresh tennis ball bounced along the sidewalk. She ran after the ball as fast as her bowed legs could carry her, but just couldn’t quite get her teeth on it. Suddenly, the ball changed directions and bounced through an open doorway and into a big old mansion. Molly ran to the house, but just before she got inside, the huge door slammed shut. Molly didn’t slow down and ran right through the door.
S.P.O.T.S. (Super Powerful Organization of Terriers and Songbird) Page 1
