Disclaimer: Garfield and all related characters are the property of Paws Inc. and ViacomCBS/Nickelodeon at the time of this story's creation.
Garfield In: The Tale of Pooky
"Desserts ready, boys!" Jon shouts as he pulls out a pumpkin pie from the oven.
Garfield and Odie rush to the kitchen table and gorge themselves on the delicious dessert, all at the speed of sound.
*BURP* "My compliments to the chef." Garfield said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
"Gee, I know cats are really fast, but this is ridiculous." Jon said.
"Hey, I get worked up on an empty stomach, okay?" Garfield replies.
"Well, I'm gonna go finish drawing my cartoons. Goodnight, boys!" Jon said as he takes his slice and excuses himself from the table.
"AHEM". Garfield clears his throat loudly, which gets his owner's attention.
"Pooky didn't get his slice!" Garfield complains, pointing at his beloved teddy bear.
"Pooky is a teddy bear, Garfield." Jon said. "I'm not going to feed that useless, unreal creature with no brain."
*GASP* "How dare you speak of Pooky like that!?" Garfield angrily shouts, grinding his teeth. "Besides, you feed Odie, so what's the difference?"
"The point is that I'm not feeding him and that's final!" Jon puts his foot down. Infuriated, the orange cat grabs his owner by the collar and pulls him right in front of his face.
"HOW ABOUT KISSING YOUR LIVING ROOM DRAPES GOODBYE!?" Garfield threatens, drawing his claws out to emphasize his point.
"Fine." Jon sighs in defeat and hands Garfield his slice of pie.
"Much obliged, my dear Arbuckle." Garfield smiles. "Now, give Pooky a good night kiss."
"No, Garfield. I will not kiss your teddy bear good night." Jon said, annoyed.
The cat angrily draws his claws out again.
"Okay, okay. Sheesh." Jon reluctantly picks up Pooky and kisses it on the nose before placing it back down and leaving the kitchen.
"Have some dessert, little buddy." Garfield happily hands his food to his stuffed bear.
"What's that, Pooky? You're on a diet? Alright, I'll eat your dessert for you." The cat takes the remaining slice of pie and stuffs it into his mouth.
*YAWN* "Well, time for our after-dessert pre-midnight snack nap, Pooky." Garfield grabs Pooky and heads over to his bed for some well deserved rest.
Jon was down in his basement drawing his latest sketches on his digital drawing tablet. While brainstorming for new ideas for his comic strip, the cartoonist can't seem to get Garfield and that pesky teddy bear out of his mind.
"I should've thrown out that damn bear years ago." Jon grumbles to himself. "But I guess I shouldn't blame Garfield for being so attached to it. After all, Huggy was my old companion back at the farm." Jon said, revealing what the bear used to be named. "He was a birthday gift from my mom when I was very little, but Doc Boy would always make fun of me and kept calling me a wimp for cuddling with it every night." He shudders at that last thought.
The sole human of the house takes a moment of pause and begins to reflect on everything up to that point. During this, many old memories begin to pop up in his mind.
"I guess I'll never forget the day when Garfield found my old bear in that drawer." Jon said to himself as his mind solely focused on what happened that particular day.
*Flashback*
1 year ago…
Garfield goes into Jon's attic, hoping to find something to cure his boredom.
"There oughta be something in here to prank Odie with." Garfield said, digging through his owner's old belongings. "Maybe there's something in one of these old drawers."
Little did the cat know that what he would find upon opening that bottom drawer would end up changing his life forever.
"Hello, what's this?" Garfield pulls out what appears to be an old dusty teddy bear from the drawer.
"A teddy bear." Garfield observes the object carefully. "A dumb, stupid, silly-looking old teddy bear." He said with a disgusted glare on his face.
"I think I'll call you Pooky." Garfield said, instantly taking a liking to his newfound toy.
"Say, Pooky, how would you like to help me prank Odie?" The cat suggested.
Naturally, the teddy bear doesn't respond.
"You do? Alright then, let's have some fun!" Garfield said, taking his new friend with him out of the attic.
In the kitchen, Odie is happily drinking some water from his dish bowl, while Jon is enjoying his supper on the dining table. Both are unaware of the cat hiding under the table.
"This is gonna be good." Garfield quietly snickers to himself as he pushes Pooky outside the table cloth and waves it around in front of Odie.
*BARK* *BARK* *BARK* The dog barks ferociously at the bear.
"What is it, Odie?" Jon gets up from the table. Before he could see what was causing the problem, Garfield quickly pulls Pooky back under the table.
"I don't see anything." Jon said.
Odie frantically points to the table cloth. Curious, the owner pulls up the cloth, but finds nothing under there.
"There's nothing down there, you silly dog. You have nothing to worry about." Jon assures his pet before going back to his chair to finish his meal…
...only to find that there's no meal on the table to be eaten.
*GASP* "MY DINNER!" Jon shrieks in horror.
*BURP* A large burp is heard from under the table, hinting to Jon on who was the perpetrator.
"GARFIELD!" Jon angrily shouts, pulling the cat out from under the table.
"It wasn't me! It was Pooky's idea!" Garfield said, pinning the blame to his bear.
"Wait a minute, is that Huggy?" Jon asked, recognizing his old stuffed animal. "Garfield, I told you not to be looking through my old stuff!" He grabs the old bear from the cat's grasp and makes his way into the attic.
"No! Please don't take Pooky away!" Garfield pleads, clinging onto his owner's knee.
"I'm sorry, Garfield, but Huggy is going back to the attic where he belongs!" Jon declares, opening the drawer where the stuffed bear was originally found.
"I won't let you put him back in there!" Garfield stands in front of the drawer, blocking Jon from accessing it.
"Get out of my way, Garfield!" Jon angrily shouts.
"Please don't stuff him in there, Jon! I promise not to go into the attic again!" Garfield begs his owner, tears welling from his eyes.
Jon pauses for a moment. He realized how attached his cat had become to his old stuffed bear. After a heavy sigh, he makes his decision.
"Alright, if you promise not to go into the attic again, you can keep him." Jon said, handing Pooky back to Garfield.
"Pooky!" The cat happily cries, pulling his new friend into a loving embrace.
"Well, I'm gonna go take a bath. Have fun with Huggy, Garfield!" Jon said, leaving the attic.
"That's Pooky to you, Arbuckle!" Garfield angrily shouts at his owner before drawing his attention back to Pooky.
"C'mon buddy, let's get warmed up in Jon's bath." The cat follows his owner, carrying Pooky with him.
*Flashback End*
Present Day…
"And ever since that day, Garfield and Pooky had become inseparable." Jon said, finishing his trip down memory lane. He looks at his watch and sees that it's almost midnight.
"Whoa! Was I dozing off for that long?" Jon asked himself.
*YAWN* "I guess these cartoons will have to wait until tomorrow." Jon said, getting up from his chair.
Upon leaving the attic, Jon sees Garfield, happily sleeping in his bed, cuddling Pooky very tightly.
"Sleep tight, Huggy." Jon happily whispers to his old bear, gently patting it before retreating to his room and getting ready for bed.