You know, life can be quite fickle. One moment, you could be with friends, soaking up the sun and enjoying the best of memories together. In the next, you could be in more danger than one could fathom. This was indeed learned the hard way by four PAW Patrol pups. Not that there was an easy way to learn. Especially for such special creatures as puppies. Today, I tell you a story of a homeward journey. A story of friendship and love. A story of the endurance of even the smallest of creatures. And like any good tale, ours begins with a tired boss.
Ryder huffed slightly in irritation as he slid down the pole to his ATV. This had been the 19th time the PAW Patrol was called this week for a mission. Understandably, anyone would be tired of this. Leading a team of dogs was actually the easy part of this whole operation. The missions were a whole other ballgame. Ryder had seen 'em all. Cats stuck in trees, house fires, toxic spills in the bay, injured animals, property damage. You name it, Adventure Bay's protectors had dealt with it. And like any good protector, the pups remained loyal to their town, no matter how silly the missions seemed.
Ryder landed onto his ATV, putting on his helmet before revving his engine. He zipped out as the Lookout's garage opened, followed by Chase, Zuma and Rocky in their pup mobiles. The German Shepherd yawned as he drove next to his leader. The pup hadn't slept in around two days. As the pup most consistently required for these missions, the Shepherd had been spending a lot of time trying to get a decent nap in, but to no avail. Luckily, not much was expected of him on this mission. Wally the walrus was caught in a net in the bay, and the police pup only had to keep the way clear from any public interference via traffic cones.
When Ryder and the trio of pups arrived on the bay, they were met with a concerned Cap'n Turbot.
"Ryder, thank goodness you're here. Wally's been seriously, strangely stranded in that naughty, nasty net for several minutes now!"
"Not to worry," said Ryder. "Pups, you know the drill."
"Chase is on the case!"
"Let's dive in!"
Chase pulled out a small stack of traffic cones from his pup mobile, tossing them around to signal that there was a mission in progress.
Zuma, ecstatic to be on his third mission this week, drove out into the bay on his hovercraft towards the walrus.
Wally yelped and whined out, desperately trying to free himself from his restraints.
"Oh, not good," muttered Zuma, noticing a cut in Wally's fin. "We'll have to have Mawshall take a look at that," assured the water pup before using his buoy to grapple around Wally and gently drag him onto the sandy shore.
It was Rocky's turn to help out. Digging through his recycling truck, the mixed breed found what he was looking for: a pair of shears. Grabbing them with the claw from his pup pack, Rocky walked over and carefully used the shears to snap the binds from Wally.
"Great work, pups," said Ryder, only now noticing the cuts on Wally's fin.
"Oh, that's ugly and deathly deep!" exclaimed Turbot.
"Don't worry, Turbot. I'll call Marshall down and he'll be better in no time. Chase!"
"Ungh!" shouted Chase as he shook himself awake in response to the boys' call.
"Ryder for action, ready sir! Uh, I mean ready for action, Ryder sir!"
Ryder, Rocky and Zuma couldn't help but chuckle at Chase's slip-up.
After calling the Dalmatian, Ryder and the other pups comforted Wally until the EMT pup arrived.
"All right!" barked Marshall as he hopped out of his pup mobile, "Where's the cut?"
"Here on the left fin," said Zuma, pointing to the scar.
"Oh, that's deep," said Marshall, quite disgusted but confident in being able to heal it.
"Thank you again," said Turbot gratefully while the Dally applied an ointment onto Wally's fin.
"Whenever Wally's gotten into another net, just yelp for help!" said Ryder, weary and uncreative in making a new tweak to the phrase he used after missions.
When at last the pups and their leader returned to the Lookout, it was needless to say they all shared the same feeling. They were all tired. They needed to rest. They loved helping their community, but not every second of their lives. It was taking a toll on them. But they couldn't just quit. This town depended on them.
Rubble and Skye were in the Lookout, watching the newest episode of Apollo the Super Pup.
"What we watching, guys?" asked Marshall.
"Apollo. What else?" responded Rubble.
"Can't we watch something else for once?" asked Rocky.
"Yeah, dude," chimed in Zuma. "The plot's getting vewy wepetitive."
"Not while I've got the remote," grinned Rubble before leaning down and picking up the television remote in his teeth.
"Come on, Rubble. Give it," said Rocky.
"No," said Rubble, his voiced muffled by the remote in his teeth.
"Rubble, for the love of all that's holy, don't make me wrestle that remote from you."
"I actually wanna see that," commented Skye, amused by her friends and their silly argument.
"Give it, come on!"
"Not a chance!"
Rocky was not usually one to start conflict, but his tired mood led to him tackling the bulldog. The two rolled about, clawing and shoving and barking at each other in their attempt to take the remote.
"Guys, guys!" exclaimed Ryder as he came in and pushed the two apart before taking the remote himself.
"If you two can't get along, the remote isn't going to anyone, unders..."
The boy trailed off, distracted by the commercial now displayed on the TV screen. In Rubble and Rocky's petty fight, buttons had been pushed and a new channel was on.
"Tired of all work and no play?" asked a male narrator in the commercial. "Ready for a long-deserved rest?"
This caught everyone's attention.
"In the mood for water fun?"
Zuma's heart raced at what he heard, although Rocky immediately lost interest.
"And generally ready to fight for the right to relax?"
Chase nodded, almost questioning if the narrator in the commercial was speaking to them directly.
"Then come on down to Colonel Snaps Beach hotel in Orlando, Florida! Our tickets are almost gone! Call while you still can to order at this number."
The voice finished asking the enticing questions and a phone number displayed on the screen.
A long silence was in the Lookout. They all thought the same thing. But they couldn't. No. This town needed them.
The six puppies looked at their owner questioningly.
"Well, no need to call a team meeting, as we're all here," thought Ryder aloud. "I understand this town depends on us. And for years it's been our responsibility to protect it. But this week has really taken its toll. On all of us. It's obvious that we can't keep going on like this. So, what do we say? Should I call Jake and have him and Everest watch over things while we take a vacation week?"
"You're right," said Skye. "We are all weary. It kills me to leave Adventure Bay behind, even temporarily, but we need this."
Most of the pups seemed to agree.
"All right then," said Ryder. "I'm going to call for tickets. I'll try to invite our friends. No promises."
The boy walked outside, dialing a phone number on his pup pad.
"Wait, wait," said Marshall. "Does this mean we're going by air travel?"
"I dunno," replied Chase. "But from here in Georgia all the way to Florida is quite a jump. We're surely not using the Paw Patroller, and the Air Patrolller is still getting that new paint job."
Marshall gulped, realizing he'd have to go through heights in order to get a little relaxation.
"I can't believe we'we going to Flowida!" exclaimed Zuma excitedly. "That's like, evewy Lab's dweam vacation!"
"Well, I'm not gonna like it," said Rocky, cringing at the thought of a beach hotel.
"Come on, Rocky," said Chase in an attempt to comfort his friend. "You know, massive beaches like the one we just saw on TV get trashed heavily after large crowds leave them."
Rocky's ears perked up. He knew what Chase was getting at.
"I'm sure the guys cleaning the beach would be honored to have a well-known recycling pup help 'em out. So, come on. What do you say?"
The mixed breed grinned, realizing this trip could be fun for him after all.
"Green means go!"
"That's the spiwit, dude," encouraged Zuma.
"...That is, if Rubble doesn't do a cannonball near me like last week."
"Last week wasn't that big a deal," scoffed Rubble.
"You got water in my ears! I can't stand things in my ears!"
"Pups," said Ryder, coming in after turning off his pup pad. "I just called our friends. Rex is busy helping a Pterodactyl protect her eggs, Al is stuck at a pit stop, and Wildcat is still in Indianapolis for that race. The others are all too busy, for the most part. But there's three who can make it."
"Who?" asked Marshall, snuggling a beanbag.
"Carlos and Tracker have things taken care of in the jungle, and apparently Liberty has been itching to hang out with us for a while.
"What about Everest?" asked Skye.
"Oh, I asked if she wanted to come. But apparently she has a little cold. She offered to stay here with Jake."
"Fair enough," shrugged the Cockapoo.
"All right guys, pack some bags. We should get our tickets by tomorrow in the mail. For now, have a little rest until-"
Chase's snoring was suddenly audible to everyone in the Lookout, making them all giggle.