Shaggy burst through the front door of Daphne's house, barreling into the
living room in a panic.
"Good gracious, Shaggy," exclaimed Daphne. "What's wrong? You're
acting as if something dead is after you!" The redhead chuckled at her comment.
Shaggy…running to the rest of the gang in a panic? Now there was something
they didn't see everyday, she thought to herself.
"Like, has anyone seen Scooby?" he panted. "I can't find him
anywhere."
Velma looked up from her book. "He's probably just out wandering
around the neighborhood," she said, calmly. "He'll be back."
The brown haired man shrugged. "I dunno. Like, it's not like him to be
gone for this long. I'm going out to look for him," said Shaggy, heading for the
front door, opening it and nearly colliding with a brown-haired man standing on
the front step. "ZOINKS!!!"
"I'm sorry, sir," said Marc Wyndham. "I didn't mean to startle you. Are
you with Mystery Inc.?"
Shaggy nodded.
"I hope you can help me. I need to find my dog."
**Yeah, like, that makes two of us, thought Shaggy. "Come on in," he
said, gesturing to the living area.
"This is a picture of my dog," he said, taking a piece of paper out of his
wallet and showing it to the gang. "She's a purebred Great Dane and a national
champion show dog. My wife calls her 'Champion Race the Wind's Kaluha
Cream,' but I just call her 'Kala.'"
Daphne looked carefully at the picture. "I remember you from the park
the other day," she commented. "You mean that beautiful animal is your dog?"
Marc nodded, and Velma suddenly made the connection. "Then, that
blonde woman is…"
"My ex-wife," interjected Marc, cutting Velma off mid sentence. "Or my
soon to be ex-wife. She and I are in the middle of a nasty divorce, and she's using
Kala as a negotiating pawn." He paused, then continued his explanation. "She
and I are co-owners of the dog. And even though the judge said that I could
legally retain ownership of Kala, Laura thinks that she can give the dog a better
life than I could."
"Why is that?" asked Fred, curiously.
"Because she thinks that the best life for a dog consists of travelling from
show to show, winning ribbons and getting a picture in the local paper," replied
Marc. "She's not in it for the dogs, she's in it for the publicity and the money.
That day at the park, Laura confronted me and decided to take Kala back for
herself. She claimed it was because she had a deal set up with a breeder in
Nevada, but apparently, that deal fell through when Kala unexpectedly
disappeared the other day." The desperation in Marc's voice grew more and more
recognizable. "We have to find that dog, and fast. She shouldn't be running
loose right now; she is currently in heat, and we have got to find her before
anything happens."
Fred pondered the man's comment, wondering if there wasn't some sort of
connection between the missing dog and Scooby's odd behavior over the past few
days. "If Kala is in heat," he began, tentatively, "and Scooby is out wandering,
then I have a hunch that your dog and our dog are probably together. Find Kala,
and we will most likely find Scooby too." Fred turned and faced Velma, Shaggy
and Daphne. "We've got work to do, so, let's split up, gang. Velma, you and
Shaggy go with Marc and try to find the two dogs; Daphne and I will…"
Daphne stared at the blond man, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Uh,
Freddy, aren't you forgetting something?"
The blond man shrugged.
"I can't just get up and leave," Daphne objected, gesturing to Victoria. "I
have a responsibility here…and so do you."
Velma turned and faced the blond man. "Daphne's right," she said. "You
should stay home…at least for now. Shag and I can handle this part of the case
by ourselves."
Fred's shoulders dropped in defeat. He was disappointed that he couldn't
accompany the gang on this case, but also resolute in his responsibility as a father.
"Okay," he replied, hesitantly. "I'll stay here; but if you guys need any help, give
us a call."
Velma smiled back at him in reply. "Now, Mister Wyndham," she began.
"Can you tell us where and when you last saw your dog?"
* * * * * * * * *
"Scooby-Doo, where are you?"
"Kala, here girl." Both men whistled and called in different directions.
After three fruitless hours of wandering the neighborhood, Shaggy
reluctantly shook his head. "Like, you know, there is no sign of them anywhere,"
he said, the disappointment and slight anguish detectable in his voice.
Marc Wyndham sighed, equally disappointed and equally concerned for
the welfare of his dog. "Well, I guess there isn't anything that we can do now,"
he said, as he climbed back in to the Mystery Machine. "Thanks for your help,
though."
Velma was hesitant to accept defeat, and mentally tortured herself about
whether or not she had missed a possible clue. "We'll keep our eyes open for
anything," she mentioned, as the van pulled up in front of the apartment complex.
"This case concerns us just as much as it does you; I'm only sorry that we
couldn't have been of more help."
As Marc unlocked the door to his apartment, he was greeted unexpectedly
by two large Great Danes. The two dogs wagged their tails in unison, as they
attempted to swueeze through the door and greet their respective owners.
"Scooby!" Velma and Shaggy cried, in unison.
"Kala. Oh, thank goodness you're alright."
The two dogs leaned forward to lick their respective owners, and
somehow, Marc managed to separate them long enough to squeeze back into his
apartment. "How did you guys get in there?" asked Velma, fending off Scooby's
long, pink tongue.
"Ricked the rock rith my raw," answered Scooby.
"He picked the lock with his claw," translated Shaggy. "Oh, brother."
* * * * * * * * * *
"…so we found her," Velma reported to Fred and Daphne. "And, just as you
figured, Scooby was with her."
Daphne sighed in relief. "It's great to have you back, Scooby," she said,
scratching the dog behind his ears. "I can't imagine what we would have done
without you."
Fred seconded his wife's opinion. "Let's just hope that's the end of the
animal custody cases for awhile," he added.
Shaggy, Velma and Daphne nodded in agreement, but neither the dog nor the
humans could possibly foresee the strange and unexpected twist the case would
soon take.
living room in a panic.
"Good gracious, Shaggy," exclaimed Daphne. "What's wrong? You're
acting as if something dead is after you!" The redhead chuckled at her comment.
Shaggy…running to the rest of the gang in a panic? Now there was something
they didn't see everyday, she thought to herself.
"Like, has anyone seen Scooby?" he panted. "I can't find him
anywhere."
Velma looked up from her book. "He's probably just out wandering
around the neighborhood," she said, calmly. "He'll be back."
The brown haired man shrugged. "I dunno. Like, it's not like him to be
gone for this long. I'm going out to look for him," said Shaggy, heading for the
front door, opening it and nearly colliding with a brown-haired man standing on
the front step. "ZOINKS!!!"
"I'm sorry, sir," said Marc Wyndham. "I didn't mean to startle you. Are
you with Mystery Inc.?"
Shaggy nodded.
"I hope you can help me. I need to find my dog."
**Yeah, like, that makes two of us, thought Shaggy. "Come on in," he
said, gesturing to the living area.
"This is a picture of my dog," he said, taking a piece of paper out of his
wallet and showing it to the gang. "She's a purebred Great Dane and a national
champion show dog. My wife calls her 'Champion Race the Wind's Kaluha
Cream,' but I just call her 'Kala.'"
Daphne looked carefully at the picture. "I remember you from the park
the other day," she commented. "You mean that beautiful animal is your dog?"
Marc nodded, and Velma suddenly made the connection. "Then, that
blonde woman is…"
"My ex-wife," interjected Marc, cutting Velma off mid sentence. "Or my
soon to be ex-wife. She and I are in the middle of a nasty divorce, and she's using
Kala as a negotiating pawn." He paused, then continued his explanation. "She
and I are co-owners of the dog. And even though the judge said that I could
legally retain ownership of Kala, Laura thinks that she can give the dog a better
life than I could."
"Why is that?" asked Fred, curiously.
"Because she thinks that the best life for a dog consists of travelling from
show to show, winning ribbons and getting a picture in the local paper," replied
Marc. "She's not in it for the dogs, she's in it for the publicity and the money.
That day at the park, Laura confronted me and decided to take Kala back for
herself. She claimed it was because she had a deal set up with a breeder in
Nevada, but apparently, that deal fell through when Kala unexpectedly
disappeared the other day." The desperation in Marc's voice grew more and more
recognizable. "We have to find that dog, and fast. She shouldn't be running
loose right now; she is currently in heat, and we have got to find her before
anything happens."
Fred pondered the man's comment, wondering if there wasn't some sort of
connection between the missing dog and Scooby's odd behavior over the past few
days. "If Kala is in heat," he began, tentatively, "and Scooby is out wandering,
then I have a hunch that your dog and our dog are probably together. Find Kala,
and we will most likely find Scooby too." Fred turned and faced Velma, Shaggy
and Daphne. "We've got work to do, so, let's split up, gang. Velma, you and
Shaggy go with Marc and try to find the two dogs; Daphne and I will…"
Daphne stared at the blond man, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Uh,
Freddy, aren't you forgetting something?"
The blond man shrugged.
"I can't just get up and leave," Daphne objected, gesturing to Victoria. "I
have a responsibility here…and so do you."
Velma turned and faced the blond man. "Daphne's right," she said. "You
should stay home…at least for now. Shag and I can handle this part of the case
by ourselves."
Fred's shoulders dropped in defeat. He was disappointed that he couldn't
accompany the gang on this case, but also resolute in his responsibility as a father.
"Okay," he replied, hesitantly. "I'll stay here; but if you guys need any help, give
us a call."
Velma smiled back at him in reply. "Now, Mister Wyndham," she began.
"Can you tell us where and when you last saw your dog?"
* * * * * * * * *
"Scooby-Doo, where are you?"
"Kala, here girl." Both men whistled and called in different directions.
After three fruitless hours of wandering the neighborhood, Shaggy
reluctantly shook his head. "Like, you know, there is no sign of them anywhere,"
he said, the disappointment and slight anguish detectable in his voice.
Marc Wyndham sighed, equally disappointed and equally concerned for
the welfare of his dog. "Well, I guess there isn't anything that we can do now,"
he said, as he climbed back in to the Mystery Machine. "Thanks for your help,
though."
Velma was hesitant to accept defeat, and mentally tortured herself about
whether or not she had missed a possible clue. "We'll keep our eyes open for
anything," she mentioned, as the van pulled up in front of the apartment complex.
"This case concerns us just as much as it does you; I'm only sorry that we
couldn't have been of more help."
As Marc unlocked the door to his apartment, he was greeted unexpectedly
by two large Great Danes. The two dogs wagged their tails in unison, as they
attempted to swueeze through the door and greet their respective owners.
"Scooby!" Velma and Shaggy cried, in unison.
"Kala. Oh, thank goodness you're alright."
The two dogs leaned forward to lick their respective owners, and
somehow, Marc managed to separate them long enough to squeeze back into his
apartment. "How did you guys get in there?" asked Velma, fending off Scooby's
long, pink tongue.
"Ricked the rock rith my raw," answered Scooby.
"He picked the lock with his claw," translated Shaggy. "Oh, brother."
* * * * * * * * * *
"…so we found her," Velma reported to Fred and Daphne. "And, just as you
figured, Scooby was with her."
Daphne sighed in relief. "It's great to have you back, Scooby," she said,
scratching the dog behind his ears. "I can't imagine what we would have done
without you."
Fred seconded his wife's opinion. "Let's just hope that's the end of the
animal custody cases for awhile," he added.
Shaggy, Velma and Daphne nodded in agreement, but neither the dog nor the
humans could possibly foresee the strange and unexpected twist the case would
soon take.