This is the twentieth entry in a series created by brave kid and me, more of which he and I will be working on together in the future. (A picture of Leo is also now available on my blog, the Keeper of the Fun blog!)The storyline is based off of an episode of Tom and Jerry entitled, "Jerry and the Lion." Please enjoy! (BTW brave kid, thank you very much for all of the story suggestions you've given me. I've had a lot of fun working on these stories with you, and I very much appreciate it. I look forward to writing future stories with you.) :)

It's after midnight in New York City. Deep inside Dot's Puppy Pound, all of the Pound Puppies and Kennel Kittens are sound asleep...Well, all except one. Inside the Super Secret up Club's clubhouse, Patches lays sleeping in his bed when he feels a rumble in his belly, which wakes him up. "Ooh, snack time." he whispers to himself, upon which he slowly climbs out of his bed, being extra careful not to wake Rebound and Cupcake, and slowly tiptoes toward the kitchen.

Nabbing a flashlight off of a nearby table, the little Dalmatian pup quickly flicks it on to see his way through the darkened hallways. As he finally makes it to the kitchen, Patches hungrily licks his lips. He then tiptoes over to the refrigerator and quietly opens it. "Hum," he quietly muses. "Ham or beef...rye or pumpernickel...decisions, decisions..." Patches selects several slices of beef, puts mustard on two slices of rye bread, and sticks the beef slices in between. As he's eating his sandwich, the little Dalmatian pup suddenly hears from a radio on a nearby counter, "Attention all citizens, a ferocious lion has escaped from a local circus. Proceed with extreme caution."

Patches feels a large shiver run down his spine. "A l-l-l-lion?! Ohmigosh, he could get into the pound!" Patches them quickly checks all of the doors and windows and is relieved to find all of them locked. "Pfew..." he sighs, upon which he begins slowly making his way back to bed. As he tiptoes through the hallways, Patches suddenly spots two glowing eyes peeking out of a dark closet. "AAAAAUGH!" he cries as he takes to his heels. He hasn't gotten far, however, when a large lion catches up with him. The Dalmatian pup freezes where he stands with his little furry knees shaking. "There, there, li'l fella," the lion says in a surprisingly soft voice. "I ain't gonna hurt'cha none."

Patches stops shaking and breathes a sigh. "My name's Leo. What's your name, li'l fella?" the lion says. He's a large golden brown lion with cream colored snout, belly and paws, a brown mane, a black tailtip, and gentle-looking blue eyes(1). "My name's Patches," the Dalmatian pup replies. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Leo." He holds out his paw, which Leo gently shakes. "What brings you to our puppy pound, Mr. Leo?" Patches inquires.

"Well, you see," the lion replies sadly. "I ran away from the circus. I just couldn't stand it there any more, with all of that corny music, those noisy crowds, and the crackle-crackle-crackle of all of those popcorn bags! More than any thing, I'd like to go back to Africa and be with my family again, especially my dear mother." A small tear seeps from Leo's eye as he finishes his sentence.

A sad expression then crosses Patches' face. "Don't worry, Mr. Leo, I'll help you find your family again." The lion's face promptly lights up. "You will?"

"Absolutely," Patches replies. "We Pound Puppies will never turn down an animal in need."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" Leo excitedly shakes Patches' paw. "Yyyyyyyyoooooooouuuuuu'rrrrrreeeee qqqqqqqquuuuuiiiiittttteeee wwwwweeeeeellllllcccccooooommmmmeeee, sssssssiiiiiirrrrr!" a very jostled Patches replies.

As he gently sets Patches down, a concerned look crosses the lion's face. "Uhm, say, I hope I'm not being a bother, but may I request one thing, please?"

"Certainly, Mr. Leo," Patches replies. "How may I help you?"

"Well, I was wondering if I might request...a little food, please? I haven't had anything to eat since I left the circus."

"Certainly, Mr. Leo. Please follow me." Upon this Patches leads Leo back to the kitchen.

Little did they know, unfortunately, that things weren't to remain smooth sailing for long. In the main office of the prison-like pound of Shelter 13, the wicked Milton Feltwaddle is listening to the radio. "Attention, all citizens," the announcer says. "We have a report that the vicious circus lion still has not been apprehended. The circus is offering a $25,000,000 reward for his return." Feltwaddle gasps in shock. "Twenty-million dollars?!"

"No, twenty-five million dollars." the announcer continues.

At this moment, a slightly groggy Morton, clad in orange and green plaid pajamas, enters the room. "I thought I heard something about a reward, Uncle Milton."

"Yes, Milton M'boy," Feltwaddle replies as a sly grin spreads across his face. "A lion escaped from the local circus and they're offering a twenty-five million dollar reward for his return." Morton's eyes grow large. "Twenty-million dollars?!"

"No, twenty-five million dollars." his uncle replies.

"Well, that sounds like a mighty good deal, Uncle Milton, but how are we going to catch a lion?"

"Catch a lion? Oh, no, no, my boy, we won't be trying to catch this lion at all; there's someone MUCH more qualified for that." Feltwaddle then turns toward the next room and calls, "Oh, Catchum!"

The dogcatcher, who's clad in(Rather ridiculous-looking) blue pajamas covered with little pink elephants, slowly ambles into the room. "Ughh, you wanted to see me, boss?"

"Yes, Catchum," Feltwaddle elaborates. "There's a lion loose in the city and I want you to apprehend him." Catchum stares in shock. "A-a-a lion? But boss, don't that seem a little dangerous?"

"I want no excuses, Catchum, " Feltwaddle snarls. "You'll get me that lion and that's that!"

"There's gonna be a big cash reward." Morton adds.

"Yes," Feltwaddle elaborates. "We'll split the money 50-50: Half for me and half for Morton."

"How is that fair?" Catchum inquires.

"Because you get nothing." Feltwaddle replies.

"I wonder if it's worth it..." Catchum mumbles under his breath as he ambles toward the door.

As he tiptoes by the puppy pound, Catchum, who's by now wearing his regular clothes, suddenly spots Patches and Leo through the kitchen window. "There he is," he quietly sneers to himself. "Now I'll catch that lion and I'll catch him good!" Upon this he then sneak in the back door.

Patches is just removing a large ham from the fridge when he hears footsteps behind them. "Uh oh..." He quickly turns to Leo. "Quick, hide!" Upon these words, the lion quickly dashes behind a nearby curtain.

Patches nonchalantly passes the ham behind the curtain just before Catchum enters the room. "All right, mutt," the dogcatcher says threateningly. "Where is he?"

"Where's who?" Patches replies, feigning perplexity.

"You know who!" Catchum replies. "The lion!"

"What lion?" Patches replies. "I haven't seen a lion."

"You can't fool me, you little mutt," Catchum growls. "I saw that lion with you jus moments ago! Now, hand him over or I'll nab YOU instead!"

Patches quickly grabs a tomato out of the fridge and squeezes it hard, squirting Catchum in the face. BLAT! "That's it!" the dogcatcher snarls. "Now I'm gonna getcha and getcha good!" Just as he's raising his net, however, Catchum hears the sound of chewing, followed by a gulp, coming from behind the curtain. Looking over his shoulder, he sees the outline of a snout sticking out of the curtain. "The lion!" he exclaims triumphantly; he then rushes over to the curtain with his net poised. "All right, lion. Come out with your paws up!"

Thinking quickly, Patches hops up and drops Catchum's net over his head. "Hey!" the dogcatcher exclaims angrily. "Why you little flea farm, I'll get the better of you, just see if I don't!" He cases the little Dalmatian pup to the door of the basement; once he reaces the door, Patches quickly turns around, pulls out another tomato, squirts Catchum in the face again and rushes down the stairs. BLAT! Seeing the door open, Leo then dashes down after him as Catchum is wiping tomato juice off of his face.

Feeling his anger rising, Catchum storms down the basement stairs and corners Patches against a wall. "Now I gotcha, ya slippery li'l twerp!" Leo, who's sitting on a stack of boxes looks on fearfully. 'Oh no,' he thinks. 'My little friend is in trouble!'

The little Dalmatian pup immediately strikes a fighting pose. Catchum bursts out laughing. "So, y'wanna fight, do ya? All right," He leans down and motions toward his nose. "I dare ya t'hit me right smack on my nosey-posey." he says mockingly. Thinking quickly, Leo reaches down and gives the dogcatcher a hard smack with his paw, that sends him flying up the basement staircase and crashing into a wall. "Oogh..." Catchum groans, rubbing his sore chin. "What hit me?" As he slowly picks himself up, a disconcerted look crosses his face. "Could that little pup have actually..." He quickly dismisses this notion. "No, no, of course not, he's only a fraction of my size!" The dogcatcher then sees Patches hurrying into the living room, upon which he takes off after him.

Catchum quickly corners the Dalmatian pup against another wall. "All right, you little pipsqueak," he grows. "I don't know how you did what you did back there, but I can guarantee that ya won't do it twice!" Upon these words, Leo, who's sitting on top of a floor lamp just above Catchum's head, wallops the dogcatcher again, sending him flying across the room and crashing into the chimney. As he comes sliding down through the fireplace, a dazed Catchum groans, "Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas..."

Patches and Leo share a laugh at this; just then, they observe the dogcatcher picking himself up and rushing toward them again. "Oh no!" Patches exclaims. "We gotta hide!" Leo cries. Suddenly spotting an umbrella stand housing a single umbrella around the next corner, Patches quickly motions to his lion friend, "Quick, we can hide in here!" Upon which the two of them race around the corner and(Impossibly!) both hop into the stand.

As Catchum approaches the stand, he looks inside and calls, "All right, I know you're in there, so come out this instant!" When he hears no reply, the perplexed dogcatcher removes the umbrella and looks in, but still sees no sign of the fleeting pup and lion. "Hmm.." he muses as he glances up at the umbrella; he then promptly pushes the button on the umbrella's side, causing it to open up. Suddenly, Leo falls out and squishes Catchum then runs away. Peeking out of the stand, Patches observes the dogcatcher squished on the ground and takes off as well. "Oogh..." Catchum groans. "Did anyone get the license number of that steamroller that hit me?"

Catchum then slowly picks himself up again and gives chase. As Patches dashes down the hallway, Leo peeks out of a nearby closet. "Psst," he whispers. "In here!" Upon this, Patches quickly dashes inside just as Catchum is closing in on him. The dogcatcher quickly slams the door and laughs nastily, "Heh heh, I've got you now, you little trickster! You won't get the better of me this time!"

Catchum then slowly enters the closet, only keeping the door open a crack, then closes the door. No sooner does he go inside, however, than loud crashes, bangs, and yells are heard. WHAM! POW! CRASH! SLAM! YOW! OOCH! EECH! GAH! Catchum then goes flying through the door and slams against a wall. "Oogh.." he groans, rubbing his sore head. At this moment Patches them approaches the dogcatcher, striking a fighting pose. "So, y'think you're tough, do ya?" he says threateningly. "Hows'about I pop ya one again?"

"O-oh no, no, no!" Catchum stammers as he quickly climbs to his feet. "Not that! Not again!" He quickly takes to his heels, smashing through the wall and taking off like a lightning bolt through the neighborhood. "This place is crazy! I'm never coming back!" As he watches him leave, the Dalmatian pup jokingly flexes his muscles and says, "He should've known better than to take on Patches, Muscle-Pup!" He and Leo then share a laugh over this.

Leo happily shakes Patches' paw. "Thank you so much for everything, little friend."

"You're quite welcome, Mr. Leo," Patches replies obligingly. "Thank you for all you've done for me, too."

"You're quite welcome, little pal."

A concerned look then crosses the Dalmatian pup's face. "Now that Catchum's gone we'd better help you find your home again! Follow me please." Patches then traipses toward the door with Leo following closely behind.

Patches leads Leo to the local dock where they quickly find a ship about to leave for Africa. The Dalmatian pup then gently helps his lion friend into the lifeboat. "Goodbye, goodbye, little friend!" Leo calls as the boat leaves, politely waving. "Thank you again for everything!"

"Goodbye, my good friend," Patches calls, waving from the dock. "Please don't forget to write!"

"Please don't worry," Leo calls back. "I certainly won't...and that's no LION!" He and Patches then share a laugh.

The end.

Voice Cast

Patches/Radio Announcer-Jessica DiCicco

Leo-Will Ryan

Catchum-Frank Welker

Milton Feltwaddle-Jim Parsons

Morton Feltwaddle-Jeff Bennet

(1)His appearance is based on that of the lion in the original Tom and Jerry episode.