Chapter 1

Shadow woke and yawned, stretching out as he opened his eyes and looked out over the small seaside town below him.

Beside him, Triss, the tabby kitten that accompanied him, was cleaning herself.

Shadow did likewise, as he and his kitten friend were very particular on their appearance, and they were rather scruffy after their latest rescue.

He had swam into a rushing river to save a little girl, as Shadow was a strong swimmer.

They had been well fed in return, but they always moved on to look for more people and animals to save, as Shadow was a hero dog, and he always looked for trouble to fix.

There was only one thing Shadow was afraid of, and that was fire.

His family and trainer had been killed by fire when he was just a young pup.

He had been a rescue-dog-in-training back then, and his trainer, Jo-Jo, a Samoyed dog, had sent him to rescue the family kitten, Triss, from the fire while he rescued Shadow's family.

Jo-Jo never returned, and neither did Shadow's family.

Since then, Shadow and Triss traveled around together, with Shadow being a hero dog in honor of Jo-Jo and his family.

Triss kept an eye out for trouble while an often-exhausted Shadow rested after a tough rescue.

At this point, they were both hungry, but well rested, and were on the verge of going down to scope out the town below, when Shadow's ultra-sensitive hearing picked up on a cry for help.

Leaping to his feet, he leaped down the mountain, from rock to rock, and ledge to ledge, until he came to a large farm.

Triss was clinging to his back, and she spotted the trouble right away.

There was a lady hanging by one hand off the edge of the barn roof, a ladder lay fallen below her, and shingles, nails, and a hammer scattered around.

Shadow sized up the situation and sent Triss up ahead of him to ensure the lady was calm.

A purring kitten often relaxed folks so he could more easily save them.

As she worked her magic, he scaled the side of the barn till he came to the roof.

He then trotted over to the lady and seized her sleeve in his mouth and hauled her up onto the roof.

As he did so, he heard sirens in the distance, and the lady exclaimed in a relived voice a bit later, " Here comes the PAW Patrol!"

She thanked him and scratched behind his ears, asking his name.

" Shadow, glad to be of service." He replied, thankful for the attention.

" And I'm Triss." Triss said, pouncing into the lady's lap.

" I'm Farmer Yumi." The lady said, petting both of them as a fire truck and an ATV pulled in, and a pink helicopter flew overhead.

Shadow supposed this was the PAW Patrol, as he saw a Dalmatian driving the fire truck, and a Cockapoo in the 'copter.

A ten year old boy was on the ATV, and he hopped off and called up to them: " Farmer Yumi, are you all right?"

" Yes, Ryder, but my ladder fell and I can't get down. This brave pup up here saved me from falling. And this kitten." She added, as Triss glared daggers at her.

" A pup?" Ryder asked, confusion in his voice.

Shadow peered over the edge and pricked his ears. " Me." he said simply. " Shadow."

Triss leapt onto his head. " And me, Triss." She called down proudly.

" Well, thanks for your help, Shadow and Triss." Ryder called up to them, and then turned his attention to his pups.

" Marshall, can you get your ladder up there so Farmer Yumi, Shadow, and Triss can climb down?" he asked.

" I'm fired up!" The Dalmatian Marshall replied.

" Aw, we don't need rescued." Shadow said, feeling slightly resentful at the idea. " We'll get down ourselves."

" But-" Ryder started to say, then stopped as the Border collie and his kitten disappeared from view.

" Skye, what's going on up there?" he asked into his headset radio.

" You won't believe this Ryder, but they're climbing down the side of the barn!" Skye reported excitedly.

" Make sure they don't fall, and if they do, catch 'em" Ryder said, then turned his attention back to Marshall and Farmer Yumi.

Shadow bounded back around the corner of the barn with Triss once again safely on his back just as Farmer Yumi reached the ground from the fire truck ladder.

The helicopter landed nearby and Skye hopped out.

" Thanks Ryder." Farmer Yumi said, shaking Ryder's hand.

" Whenever you're in trouble, just yelp for help!" Ryder declared, then turned to his pups as Shadow observed from the barn.

" Good job, pups. Now let's head back up to the Lookout as soon as we find Shadow and Triss. Maybe they want to come to meet the rest of the team."

" We're right here." Shadow said as he approached Ryder, his stomach doing flips as he gazed into the boy's kind brown eyes.

Ryder bent down and scratched behind Shadow's ears.

" That was some cool climbing you did." Marshall said enthusiastically.

" Thanks." Shadow said as Ryder straightened. " All in a hero dog's day."

" Hero Dog?" Skye questioned.

Shadow thought he had never seen a more pretty pup, and he felt his breath catch before he answered his eyes on hers.

" Yes." he replied. " I save people and animals from trouble anywhere, anytime. I was to be a rescue dog but my training was, let us say, discontinued. So now I am hero dog."

He slightly hoped that would impress her, but Farmer Yumi dashed that hope in her next sentence.

" The PAW Patrol are all rescue dogs." Farmer Yumi commented as she picked up her hammer. " Could you maybe send Rocky over here to help with my barn patching? Its almost milking time, and I need to have the roof fixed by then."

" Let me call him." Ryder took out a device that he explained was his Pup Pad, as called a gray and white mix-bred dog.

" Rocky, could you come up to Yumi's farm and help her fix her barn roof? Marshall will be here with his ladder."

" Green means go!." Rocky replied, and the call ended.

" Come on." Ryder told Shadow. " You can ride on my ATV."

Shadow hopped up behind him with Triss still on his back, and rode down the hill into town.

Skye followed above in her pink helicopter.

They passed Rocky in a green recycling truck on his way up to the farm.

He stopped and asked Ryder, " Who's the new pup?"

" His name's Shadow. He's a hero dog."

" And this is my sidekick, Triss." Shadow put in, feeling a bit ticked off that no one remembered his kitten friend.

" Nice to meet you Shadow. Are you going to stay here?" Rocky asked.

" Nope. I never stay in one place, I move around to save things." Shadow said, though he wished he could stay.

" You mean you don't have a home?" Rocky asked, looking concerned.

" Nope. Burnt down with my trainer and family inside." Shadow said bitterly.

Triss kneaded his ears, trying to make him feel better.

" You know, we always have room for more rescue pups. Why don't you stay here and be part of the PAW Patrol?" Ryder asked.

Shadow looked thoughtful, and staid, " I'll think about it." even though he knew he would stay if they wanted him, even if he was not a real rescue pup, just an untrained hero pup.

The rest of the way was uneventful, other then Ryder pointing out everything to him along the way.

They then drove up a long drive towards a tall tower.

" There's the Lookout, Shadow and Triss." Ryder said.

Shadow gulped as they parked outside and wondered what other pups might be inside.