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"Arthur's Lost Dog"
Season/Series: 1
Number in season: 12B
Original Airdate: United States October 22, 1996[1]
Canada January 21, 1997[2]
Germany December 27, 2001[3]
Credits
Written by: Joe Fallon
Storyboard by: Sylvain Proteau
Episodes
Previous
"Arthur Writes a Story"
Next
"So Long, Spanky"
Read transcript

"Arthur's Lost Dog" is the second half of the twelfth episode in the first season of Arthur. It was later adapted into the book Arthur's Lost Puppy.

Summary

When Pal runs away at a street fair, even Arthur starts to doubt his dog's intelligence.

Plot

The episode opens with Arthur pouring orange juice into a glass. Meanwhile, D.W. looks at Pal's eyes and says that he is dumb. Arthur says that any dog that does old tricks, like him, is very smart. D.W. doesn't think so. She then commands him to roll over while holding a dog treat in her hand. However, he will not respond. While she proves to Arthur that he is dumb, he goes after the dog treats. In the living room, Arthur picks up his Doggie Care book and reads it. D.W. also says to him that Pal can't even get a treat. This time she commands him to sit up. Again, he doesn't respond. Arthur then laughs and states to her that he's not as smart as her. Pal then burps after eating the dog treats.

Arthur's Lost Dog

We now see a street fair being held in the center of Elwood City. Arthur, Buster, D.W., Pal, Jane, David, and Kate all attend it. They walk around at many of the sales and stands, such as the pickle guessing stand and the free jokes stand in front of Jack's Joke Shop. After hearing about the free jokes, Arthur chooses to take one. Unfortunately, the joke that the jokester tells them really isn't that funny. Meanwhile, at the bank, one of the employees announces that there are free giveaways inside the bank and a crowd of people rushes over to see what they are. They really are free pencils. This angers the crowd, so they walk off.

Buster is at a pizza stand buying a slice. Meanwhile, Arthur and David are sitting on a bench while Kate, in her stroller, is petting Pal. Then Pickles walks by with free balloons. Kate wants one, but he walks away, causing her to start crying. David tries to comfort her with her pacifier, but nothing works. Arthur tries to give her her bunny, but that fails too. Buster thinks Kate wants some of his pizza, but Kate continues to cry, and knocks the pizza to the ground. D.W. gets a balloon from Pickles. Pal wants to see it, but Arthur holds him back. Kate stops crying when she sees D.W. with the balloon in her hand. Buster grabs the end of the balloon and makes noises with it. However, the air lets out, causing Kate to start crying again. David suggests Arthur should push her in the stroller, but he can't, due to the fact he has to walk Pal. Pal gets very restless trying to get away from Kate, but Arthur tells him to sit. D.W. wants to hold his leash, but Arthur thinks she's too young to do so. Jane suggests for her to walk him and Arthur to push Kate.

While they are still walking down the street, Kate continues crying. Buster can't take it anymore, so he covers his ears. Pal then runs around a pole, gets off his collar and leash, and runs free from all the commotion from Kate. Arthur, worried, asks what D.W. did to Pal, but she tells him that he escaped. The search is on! Meanwhile, Pal, collarless and leashless, surveys the streets. Meanwhile, Kate, who stopped crying again, is in Jane's arms as everyone else is walking and still looking for Pal. D.W. suggests to Arthur that he should get a new dog, like a poodle that they see in a cage. Arthur and Buster get grossed out just looking at the poodle.

Jane and David reserve a table at a Chinese restaurant while Arthur and Buster search for Pal. Back on the streets, Pal runs under a table and emerges from the other side, looking up to see three kids holding balloons. He then spots Pickles and tries to catch up with him. Arthur calls for Pal. Then an announcement over the loudspeaker says that a dog has been found and that it's at the town hall lost-and-found. Arthur and Buster run off to the town hall. Pal finally sees Pickles. Pickles, however, is allergic to dogs. Pal tries to get a balloon, but a police officer catches him.

At the town hall, Arthur and Buster find that the dog being held there is not Pal. Arthur and the dog both don't seem to like each other, as they both stick out their tongues. Arthur then gets even more worried about Pal and wonders if he ran away because he doesn't like him anymore. Buster thinks it's time to investigate this completely. They split up and look for him. Back at the restaurant, Kate cries again, which disturbs everyone, and David tries to give her her bottle. But when she sees Pickles walk by, she stops crying, only to resume when he keeps walking.

At the carousel, Arthur asks everyone if they've seen Pal. Buster asks the same thing to Ms. Tingley, but she hasn't seen any dog at all. Buster searches Ms. Tingley's purse, but with no luck. Arthur then shows a picture of Pal to a police officer. It is the same officer who had captured Pal and brought him to the town hall.

In the town hall, Pal tries to escape. Meanwhile, Francine and Muffy see him but he runs off. Francine tries to talk to Arthur, but he's in a rush to find Pal. Then Francine and Muffy decide to join the investigation too. Kate is still crying while D.W. points out Arthur. David tells everyone to hurry up to get Kate home because she does not want to be sick. Arthur refuses to go home until he finds Pal. David suggests to put up lost dog signs back at home, but Arthur complains at D.W. for letting Pal escape.

Arthur spots Pal, but he runs off to Pickles. On the way home, Arthur, feeling hurt, while Kate continues crying, says that Pal hates him. D.W. says that she was correct about not losing Pal because he was "escaping" from Arthur. Back at the fair, Pickles sees that one of his shoes is untied and sits down at a table to tie it. Pal spots Pickles, and goes right up to him, making him sneeze again. He barks and growls at Pickles, after his balloons fly away. Pal then leaps on top of Pickles' head, and then bounces on a pizza restaurant's awning, just in time to catch the balloons. Francine and Muffy quickly notice Pal and try to rescue him. Then the balloons start to fly away, leaving Pal only grasping onto one balloon. Francine catches Pal just in time and the crowd applauds her, but then he runs off again!

Back at home, Arthur tries to write a lost dog sign, but he wonders what's the point if Pal doesn't want to be with him. He thinks if Pal wants to be somewhere else, he should just let him, so Pal can be happy. Suddenly, there is scratching on the door and it turns out that Pal made it home. He immediately runs up to Kate, who is still crying, and gives her the balloon. When she sees it, she finally stops. David takes his earplugs out and asks how she stopped crying. Really, the balloon made her do so, but neither Jane nor David figure this out, which upsets Pal.

Characters

Major

Minor

Cameo

Trivia

  • Though neither Pal nor Kate talk, this episode anticipates the talking animal episodes that start with “The Secret Lives of Dogs and Babies”. Pal shows near-human intelligence, has a special bond with Kate, and adults and older children do not understand what is going on. It is revealed in this episode that Pal got off the leash so he can focus on getting Kate a balloon to stop her crying, since he knew that’s what Kate wants.
  • This seems to be a rare occurrence where Grandma Thora appears independent of the Reads, unless she meets them off-screen.

Errors

  • In the first scene after the title card, the frames without the clown and his balloons, and a woman in a beige jacket are visible, as they were shown to appear at the moment the scene starts panning.

Home video

DVD:

Gallery

Main article: Arthur's Lost Dog/Gallery

References


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