Spring had finally come to Pontypandy. The snow was nothing, but a memory and the trees were already getting new leaves.
Penny was putting the other Firefighters through their paces with another fitness course. They were jogging along Pandy Lane. Sam and Penny were far ahead of Elvis and Trevor, who, despite being the local Bus Driver, was also an Auxiliary Fireman. Both men were wheezing and coughing by the time they reached the stop-point.
Penny shook her head as she watched Elvis and Trevor collapse onto the bench there. "Dear me…!" she whistled, "You two need to go on a diet, something quick!"
Trevor groaned. He liked his food. "Why can't this job be easier…?" he asked, blowing out of his cheeks.
Sam was about to say something when he heard a noise. "Shh.." he whispered, "Can you hear that?"
Everyone listened. The sound came again: a whimper.
"Sounds like an animal in distress…" Penny observed.
Leaving Elvis and Trevor to rest on the bench, Sam and Penny followed the sound to a ditch. There, a liver-spotted dalmatian dog lay, whimpering. It was wet and looked scared.
"Oh, poor thing!" Sam said sympathetically. Luckily, the ditch was only shallow, and he was able to get into it without any trouble. The dog had a nasty cut on his right back paw. "Give us hand, would you, Penny?" he called.
Penny stepped into the ditch and, together, they lifted the injured dog out.
"I'll take him to the Vet." Sam decided, "You take Elvis and Trevor back to the Station."
"Okay, Sam."
At the Veterinary Centre, the Vet cleaned the dog's wound and put a bandage on it. He didn't have a collar, and no-one had put posters up anywhere.
"We'll put up posters and if no-one comes to claim him within a week, we'll find him a new home." The Vet told Sam.
"Aye…" Sam nodded. He was quite taken to the dog, who very friendly. Satisfied that the dog was in good hands, he turned to leave before saying, "Could you give me or the Fire Station a ring if nobody claims him?"
The Vet agreed.
A week later and no-one came to claim the dog. Sam was delighted when the Vet phoned him. "To be honest, it would be nice to have an animal companion around the house." He chuckled.
Sam collected the dog, who he had decided to call "Freckles", and took him away. Luckily it was his day off.
As he was riding the bus, a thought suddenly occurred to Sam: Who would look after Freckles when he was on duty?
He got off at the park. Freckles was very happy to play fetch with a stick Sam found.
"Good boy!" Sam praised as Freckles brought back the stick. Suddenly, Freckles' ears pricked, and he looked around.
"What's up, boy?" Sam asked, patting the dog's head, "Do you hear something?"
Freckles barked and began to run towards the next field.
Sarah and James were there, taking pictures of rabbits with Sarah's new camera that she had gotten for Christmas. But, Sarah had gotten her foot stuck in a hole and it was very painful.
"Help…!" She and James were calling, hoping someone, somewhere, would hear them.
James saw a dog running towards them…followed by Sam.
"Uncle Sam!" they both called with relief.
"Sarah, James…" Sam stopped as he reached them, "Are you two alright?"
"I've hurt my leg, Uncle Sam…" Sarah sobbed, "I caught it in this hole."
Sam knelt to inspect his niece. "Can you stand on it at all?" he asked.
Sarah shook her head and began to cry.
"It's alright, Sarah…" her brother said comfortingly, "Uncle Sam will help you."
Sarah suddenly noticed Freckles. "Who's this?" she asked, her crying giving way to giggles as the dalmatian began to lick her face.
"This is Freckles." Sam replied and told the twins how he and Penny had rescued him, "He's mine now…and seeing how he heard you in trouble has given me an idea what to do with him when I'm on duty, of course I'll have to run it through Station Officer Steele…But, first, let's call an ambulance for Sarah."
Luckily, Sarah's leg was just sprained. The doctor gave her some painkillers to take for three days and advised that she came back if she was still in pain after that.
Sam spoke to Station Officer Steele. He wondered if they would be able to train Freckles as a Rescue Dog. "He's got excellent hearing." He told his boss, "And he's great with all kinds of people."
"Hmmm…" Station Officer Steele patted Freckles, "I must say, he's a fine chap…and plenty of Fire Brigades around the World have Rescue Dogs nowadays."
"Is that a "yes" then, Sir?" Elvis asked hopefully.
Steele smiled. "Go on, then…" he said, "Let's give the fellow a chance, eh wot?"
Sam smiled. He looked forward to training Freckles.
Freckles was a fast learner. Sam, Elvis, Penny and, on the odd occasion even Station Officer Steele would put him through trails such as using his hearing and sense of smell. They also worked on teaching Freckles to bark if he found anything. Freckles proved to be brilliant at all of it.
Sarah and James, who already greatly enjoyed visiting Sam, now had an even bigger reason to enjoy seeing their uncle.
One day, Elvis and Sam were doing a rescue drill with Freckles. The dummy had a speaker attached to it which called out for help. Freckles heard it and followed the sound and scent until he found the dummy, trapped inside the fire-training building. Inside, a tape recorder was playing the sound of flickering flames and a smoke machine was billowing smoke. Freckles could hear the dummy calling through the sound of the "flames" and began to bark. Then, he ran to find Sam and Elvis. He led them to the training building and sat, patiently, while they entered the building, wearing protective gear, for this was as much a training drill for them as it was for Freckles. Elvis turned off the tape recorder and they both came out with Sam carrying the dummy over his shoulder.
All the while, at a safe distance, Sarah and James, had been allowed to watch. "Megabrill!" James whooped, "Freckles wicked clever dog!"
"He's super!" Sarah agreed.
"Excellent work, all of you!" Station Officer Steele said with a satisfied nod, "I'm certainly not regretting letting Freckles train with the Fire Brigade."
Sam and Elvis praised Freckles with cuddles and a treat. Sarah and James came to give him a cuddle, too.
"Aye." Sam smiled, "A fine Rescue Dog my Freckles is turning out to be."
"Oh, yes, Sam!" Elvis agreed, heartily, "And, besides Penny, he really brightens the Station up!"
The twins giggled and Sam chuckled.
"Speaking of Penny…" James said, turning around, "Here she comes now."
Venus 1 pulled up into the drive and Penny stepped out. "Hello, everyone." She smiled, "Been doing a training exercise, have you?"
"We certainly have." Sam grinned, "And I'm pleased to say, Freckles passed with flying colours."
Station Officer Steele looked at Freckles, "I think he's earned the afternoon off."
"Yes, indeed." Agreed Sam.
"I've got my lunch hour at twelve o'clock…" Penny said to the twins, "We could take Freckles for a walk around town, if you like."
The twins thought it was great idea!
Later, they took Freckles out for a walk. Everyone loved the dog. EVEN Dylis, who wasn't too keen on animals being around her shop, was happy to pat him. Norman fussed over him, greatly.
Penny and the twins took Freckles to Pandy Pond. He loved watching the fish dart about, but he never tried to chase them. He was a well-behaved dog.
"Freckle's so good with people, considering he was a stray dog…" Sarah said as she rubbed Freckles' tummy.
Penny nodded, "Yes, he was too friendly, even when Sam and I first found him, to have been born a stray…" Then she added sadly, "Which means he actually belonged to someone, but they threw him out onto the street."
The twins were horrified at the thought. "But…" James gasped, putting his arms around Freckles, "But, why would anyone throw him out?"
"He's such a sweet dog!" Sarah chimed in.
Penny smiled sympathetically. "Not everyone is very nice to animals." She sighed, "And we know Freckles isn't just lost because no-one has made an effort to claim him."
Sarah smiled. "Never mind." She chuckled, "Freckles has a lovely home with Uncle Sam now, and lots of people who love him."
They all agreed. It was time for Penny to return to duty. "Come on…" she smiled, "Back to the station."
Trevor was in his garden, watering his plants. "There, my beauties…" he crooned, "Some water to keep you beautiful."
He looked at his watch, "Heavens, is that the time! I'd better get going or I'll miss the football match!"
In his hurry, Trevor forgot he had his radio plugged in inside his potting shed. The door was open so he could hear while he was tending to the plants. Not wanting to waste the water that was still in his watering can, he put it on the shelf above the radio. Trevor left the shed, not thinking twice when a gust of wind blew the door shut. He certainly had no clue the door slamming his jarred the watering can and caused the water to spill out onto the radio.
Trevor left, not knowing a thing about the flames that were starting to form in his shed.
Penny and the twins were, now, on their way to the Station with Freckles. They would be going passed Trevor and Sam's houses on the way.
Just a way from Trevor's house, Freckles suddenly halted. He sniffed the air and pricked his ears. Then, he barked and began to pull on the lead.
"Somethings up…" James said as Penny was almost pulled off her feet.
They let Freckles lead them. When they reached Trevor's house, they could see smoke coming through the gaps in the potting shed door.
"Trevor's shed is on fire!" Penny gasped, "Quickly, we must phone the Fire Brigade!"
Sarah and James stayed back while Penny ran to the nearby phone box and called the Fire Station.
At the Fire Station, the alarm rang, and Station Officer Steele leapt from his chair. "Now who needs the Fire Service?" he wondered out loud as he tore the message from the automatic printer. "Fire in Trevor Evans' potting shed." He read.
Sam and Elvis came, sliding down the pole. Without wasting time, they all ran to Jupiter and got in. Belting up, Sam announced, "All present and correct, Sir."
"Right…" Steele replied, "Let's go!"
Sirens wailing, Jupiter sped along towards Trevor's house.
Penny was making sure Sarah and James were kept at a safe distance. Jupiter pulled up and the Firemen geared up in their masks.
Sam kicked down the shed door. "Great fires of London!" he gasped, "It's Trevor's radio! We must turn it off at the mains!"
He did so and then, he and Elvis began to tackle the fire. Once it was completely out, Sam wiped his brow and let out a sigh of relief. "Phew…!" he exclaimed, "Good thing Trevor's in a safe place at the match right now."
"Poor Trevor…" Penny said sympathetically, "He not long ago got his shed fixed up from that last fire."
They all remembered that. Station Officer Steele had received a letter announcing it was his time to retire. As a gift, Sam and the others had bought him a new golf bag which Trevor had been keeping in the potting shed. A golf ball, hit by Steele, had smashed through the shed window, and knocked over the open-flame kettle and set the shed alight, causing damage to the shed and ruining the golf bag.
Trevor was very upset and cross with himself when he saw what happened to his shed. "Daro…!" he groaned, "I shouldn't have put that watering can directly above the radio…And I should've turned the radio off."
Sam patted his shoulder. "Never mind, Trev." He smiled, "I've got the day off next week…Perhaps I can help you tidy your shed up a bit."
"Thanks, Sam…" Trevor smiled weakly.
Sarah and James told their uncle all about how Freckles had smelled the fire and lead them to it.
"He really is a clever dog!" Sam praised and fondled Freckles' ears.
"Aye…" Trevor patted the dalmatian, "My shed could've been damaged a lot worse if you hadn't smelled the fire, boy."
Later, in Bella's Café, Sam, Sarah and James were enjoying sandwiches and sponge cake. Being fond of Freckles, Bella had gotten some dog food in stock. Even Rosa, who would normally hiss and spit and dogs, had no problem with gentle Freckles. Norman and Dilys were also there.
"Poor Trevor!" Bella exclaimed when Sam told her what happened, "I'm-a so glad he wasn't-a hurt!"
Dilys nodded. "I've got to agree with you there, Bella." She said, giving Norman, who was slurping his milkshake rather noisily, a hard stare, "To think he left that radio on…Still, he's safe."
"I certainly am..." Said a voice. Trevor came in, "Could I get a coffee, please, Bella?"
Bella smiled and went to prepare Trevor's coffee.
"Hello, Trevor, my lovely." Dilys greeted him in her usual flirty way, "How are you? I heard what happened."
Trevor sighed, "Aye, just a little fire, Dil…Nothing to worry about, really, thanks to Freckles sensing the danger."
Dilys looked at Sam. "I've got to hand it to you Sam." She smiled, "That's one smart dog you've got."
"I certainly have, Dilys…" Sam chuckled, "I certainly have."
