Later that day, the police dogs were set a series of challenges by the chief. The professor stayed to observe, praying there wouldn’t be another assault-course-explosion incident.
“Now, dogs, this first challenge of all your three challenges,” announced the chief, “is chasing a robber.”
“Let’s all show this metal menace who’s boss!” said Gristle.
“WOOF!” barked the other dogs in agreement.
“Well, when I say ‘all’, I mean everyone except me,” replied Gristle.
A police officer who had clearly drawn the short straw waddled into view, wearing a huge padded suit. He looked as if he’d been inflated. This was to protect him from any dog bites as he was pretending to be a robber. The “robber” was then given a head start before the chief blew a whistle for the dogs to give chase.
TOOT!
The dogs shot off, looking back at Robodog still on the starting line. But Robodog could afford to take his time, because he was the fastest dog the world had ever known.
“WINGS: OUT! BOOSTER ROCKET: FIRE!” he chirped.
Immediately, he transformed into a flying machine and took off with a…
BOOM!
Robodog soared over the heads of all of the dogs giving chase.
ZOOM!
“WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!”
Then a hatch opened on the robot dog’s back and his grabbers popped out.
CLUNK!
The arms of the grabbers extended and extended until they reached the “robber”.
“ROBBER! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!” announced Robodog.
Then the grabbers grabbed hold of the back of the man’s padded suit and scooped him up into the sky.
WHOOSH!
“I SURRENDER!” cried the policeman.
All the other dogs could do was stop and stare at this magnificent display of police work. The man dangled helplessly in the air, waving his arms and legs, unable to escape Robodog’s clutches. He was dragged through the tops of the trees…
RUSTLE! RUSTLE! RUSTLE!
…before he was dropped into the arms of a waiting police officer below.
“OOF!”
“Mission accomplished!” chirped Robodog.
“BRAVO, MY BOY!” shouted the professor from the sidelines. “BRAVO!”
All the other dogs huffed, none louder than the Lost Patrol. This robot dog was showing them up something rotten.
“Now this next challenge is quite a –” began the chief before pausing, searching for a word she never found – “challenge! You can see that my fellow police officers have placed one hundred suitcases here in a huge pile on the parade ground. The challenge is to find the one with the stick of dynamite hidden inside!”
The dogs lurched forward, their noses twitching to sniff out the explosives.
“Wait for it, dogs. You go on my signal!”
TOOT! went the whistle.
“Did I miss catching the robber?” asked the idle Gristle.
The dogs began leaping all over the suitcases, sniffing like crazy.
SNIFF! SNIFF! SNIFF!
Meanwhile, Robodog stood still. He used his X-ray eye and scanned the hundreds of suitcases in seconds. Instantly, he found the big brown one containing the stick of dynamite.
PING!
“STAND BACK!” he ordered.
All the dogs scampered off. Scarper went one stage further and started frantically digging a hole in which to hide.
Then, with his laser eye, Robodog blasted the suitcase.
ZAP!
KABOOM!
There was a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, all the other dogs discovered they had turned black with soot.
“GRRR!” they growled.
“Another mission accomplished,” chirped the robot.
“OH YEAH! OH YEAH! HE DONE IT! HE DONE IT!” chanted the professor, doing a little victory dance.
“Will you be quiet?” snapped the chief. “You are embarrassing me in front of all the dogs!”
“Sorry.”
“Thank you.”
“BUT HE DONE IT! HE DONE IT!”
“QUIET! Right, dogs, this final challenge is, in a word, very challenging.”
“That’s two words,” replied the professor.
“QUIET! Now, one of the jobs of police dogs is keeping the citizens of this city safe. You must save someone from drowning!”
On the chief’s signal, a police helicopter hovered overhead.
WHIRR!
Dangling from a line under the helicopter was a battered old police car with an officer in a life jacket in the driving seat. He had drawn an even shorter straw. As the helicopter reached the centre of the lake, the line was released.
WHIP!
The car landed in the lake with a giant PLOP!
It began sinking under the water.
BLUB! BLUB! BLUB!
“We’ve got him now!” exclaimed Scarper. “Robodog can’t get wet! He’ll rust!”
“Which one is Robodog again?” asked Plank, the silly one.
The chief blew her whistle.
TOOT!
Scarper dipped his little toe in the water, but decided it was far too cold for him to get in.
Gristle thought it best to sit this one out. It had been an awfully long day.
Meanwhile, Plank had confused a puddle for the lake and had dived into that instead.
SPLAT!
But all the other dogs took a running jump into the water…
SPLOOSH!
…as Robodog stayed on dry land.
The dogs raced to reach the sinking car and drag the man to safety.
“Submarobodog mode: engage!” chirped Robodog.
The robot began to transform again – this time into a submarine.
SWIVEL!
The tracks disappeared up inside his body before fins and a propeller popped out.
CLUNK!
“Transformation complete! Ready to launch!”
“Well, I never,” remarked the chief.
Then the robot toppled into the lake…
SPLOOSH!
…and powered under the water.
WHIRR!
Above him, he spotted hundreds of little furry legs doing their best doggy paddle. However, all those dogs were no match for Submarobodog, who whooshed past them.
WHOOSH!
He reached the sinking car in moments, dived down underneath it and engaged his super-strong electromagnet from his tummy.
BUZZ!
Immediately, the bottom of the car stuck to the electromagnet.
CLUNK!
Still deep underwater, Submarobodog transformed back into Robodog. The fins and propeller disappeared inside his body, the wings popped out and the booster rocket fired.
BOOM!
Just as the dogs reached the middle of the lake, the car rose out of the water with Robodog beneath.
WHOOSH!
The dogs looked up as the car flew above them. Robodog delivered it safely at the chief’s feet, with a very wet and very relieved officer inside.
CLONK!
“Mission well and truly accomplished!” he chirped.
The chief was amazed. “He’s not just a dog! He’s a superdog!” She turned to her wife. “Professor! You are a genius! Could you make a hundred of these? A thousand? No, ten thousand!”
“Maybe,” she replied. “But this one is super special.”
“I thought I was the only one,” chirped Robodog.
“You are.”
“For now,” added the chief.
All the time, perched on top of a roof with a pair of binoculars, was Velma. The cat had been observing Robodog’s every move.
“This thing must be destroyed!” she hissed to herself.
“Well done today, Robodog!” said the chief. “You have passed the tests with flying colours!” She reached out a hand to pat his metal head before thinking better of it.
“All in a day’s work for Robodog!” said the robot dog. “Welcome to the future of crime fighting!”
“Oh no!” gasped Gristle. “He’s even got a catchphrase!”
“Dogs,” said the chief, “you have all witnessed something extraordinary today. This brand-new police dog, Robodog, has set the gold standard for you all to follow.”
“Which one is Robodog again?” asked Plank.
“And, as such, I have decided that Robodog will be kennelled with the dogs who can learn most from his shining example… THE LOST PATROL!”
“WHAT?!” exclaimed the three.
“It will be your most challenging challenge yet! To turn these three reprobates, the nervy Scarper, the idle Gristle and the silly Plank into model police dogs just like you!”
“Whoever they are,” muttered Plank, “I feel sorry for them!”
Scarper and Gristle shook their heads in despair. Plank really was the silliest dog in the world.