At that very moment, a small metal dog-shaped alarm on the wall sounds, "Attention! Attention! Visitors incoming at 2 o'clock!"(1)

Niblet checks his watch. "Hmm, looks like we'll have to wait for a bit, it's only 12:45." The others just look at him oddly.

Sweet Pea and Harry then come sliding down the entrance chute. Sweet Pea is a small blonde cocker spaniel pup; she's wearing a puffy light pink dress and matching bows above her ears. Harry is a scruffy little grey and white dog; he's wearing a backwards red baseball cap and a dark blue t-shirt. (Both of which were, unsurprisingly, rather grubby.)

"Howdy, Pound Puppies!" the two pups say cheerily.

"Hey there, li'l guys," Squirt replies. "How's it been goin' at your new home?"

"Oh, very nicely." Sweet Pea replies.

"Leon and Ruby recently participated in a tennis tournament and won first prize!" Harry continues.

"Ooh, that's wonderful!" Cookie replies obligingly.

At once the Pup Club members hurry up to them. "Howdy, you must be our guests." Rebound hops up and down excitedly.

"Do you wanna come play with us at th' park later?" inquires Patches.

"Or join our super peachy-keen club?" asks Cupcake.

"Uhmm...sure." reply Sweet Pea and Hairy, feeling the slightest bit overwhelmed.

"It's a pleasure having you kids here again," Lucky says. "Would you like me to show you to your rooms?"

"Sure!" they reply, upon which Lucky gently takes their paws and leads them down the halls.

Little did they know, however, that things unfortunately weren't going to be smooth sailing for long. Across the street from them, in the prison-like pound of Shelter 13, Catchum, the nasty dogcatcher has been watching them via a spyglass. "Hey boss," he says, looking over his shoulder. "I just spied a couple a' new pups at th' pound next door."

"Wonderful, wonderful," Milton Feltwaddle, Shelter 13's nasty supervisor, sits at his desk, schemingly rubbing his hands. "At last we'll get the better of that miserable Dot and her sniveling puppies!" His pet cat, Scarface Claw(2), sits next to him on the desk. Scarface was a large, shaggy black and brown cat with glowing yellow eyes and razor-sharp teeth and claws. In former days, Scarface had been a member of the Kennel Kittens, but had soon been exiled from the group because he was just too mean.

"What's your plan, Uncle Milton?" inquires Feltwaddle's nephew Morton. Morton is about Dot's age; he has a short black bowl hair cut and wears a green and orange plaid sweater vest over a white shirt, khaki pants, black shoes and a pair of thick black glasses.

"A very simple procedure," Feltwaddle replies. "We'll capture those new puppies, and whoever's been sneaking puppies and kittens from our pound will come to rescue them. Then we'll set a trap for them and expose their true identity once and for all, putting Shelter 17 out of business for good!" Scarface meows and snickers nastily.

"Catchum, I'd like you now to go and capture those puppies for me." Feltwaddle says.

"Sure thing, Boss. I'll catch 'em, and I'll catch 'em good!(3)" the dogcatcher then traipses out the front door, ready to enact Feltwaddle's scheme.

The dogs are outside in the yard, playing merrily, unaware of what's about to happen. Lurking in the bushes nearby, Catchum snickers nastily. "There's those pups. They'll be an easy catch."

Sweet Pea and Harry are playing tug-of-war with a rope toy, when suddenly the dogcatcher pounces out at them. "Ah-ha!" The dogs and cats quickly scramble for cover; Sweet Pea manages to escape, but Harry isn't fast enough and is quickly swept up by Catchum's net.

Sweet Pea gasps. "Oh no, Harry!"

"Ha ha, I gotcha, ya slippery little mutt! Won't the boss be glad to see you!" Catchum sneers. Harry gives many frightened little whimpers as the dogcatcher totes him into his wagon and drives away.

Tears fall from Sweet Pea's eyes. "They got Harry! Oh my poor friend!"

A look of anger crosses Lucky's face. "Feltwaddle...what is he up to?"

(1)A nod to the Red Alert Pup alarm from season 2 of the '80s series.

(2)His name, and to a certain extent his appearance, was borrowed from the Hairy McClairy book series.

(3)A nod to the catchphrase I've given Dabney Nabbit in my fanfics, "I'll nab 'em, and I'll nab 'em good!"