1. Head to Head
Lara was the world’s first ever Spy Dog.
But even Spy Dogs need holidays
, she thought, as the animal neighbourhood-watch team assembled for their Thursday meeting. Her pups, Star and Spud, had gone ahead to the secret holiday location and Lara was keen to join them as soon as possible. Shep was always first to arrive, panting and excited. He was coming along nicely and Lara knew he was desperate to be given more responsibility.
He’s a Border collie
, thought Lara,
so is a bit of a control freak.
The rest of the dogs arrived for the meeting and Shep organized them into perfectly straight lines, hoping to catch Lara’s eye with his leadership skills.
Of the cats, Connie stood out a mile. What she lacked in leadership, she made up for with
bravery, enthusiasm and a never-say-die attitude. Lara cast her mind back to an unfortunate rollerblading incident where Connie had fallen flat on her face.
But at least she was brave enough to give the Professor’s rollerblades a go
, thought the retired Spy Dog.
The cats assembled to Lara’s right and the dogs to her left. Although they were officially a neighbourhood-watch ‘team’, the feline/canine divide was always bubbling just beneath the surface. Dyson and Morley, the guinea pigs
from number 30, scampered into the garden and sat a safe distance from the cats. Tufty and Humphrey, the hamsters, kept a wary eye on the cats and, for the first time, Lara noticed that hardly any other animal felt comfortable sitting with the feline members of the team either.
Bilbo, the tabby from number 2, suddenly proved why as the urge to resist stabbing his paw at Long John, one of the parrots, proved too great. Long John’s colourful tail feather was violently pinned to the ground and there was a squawk and a flurry of feathers as the unfortunate bird desperately tried to take off. Luckily, Bilbo then caught Lara’s disapproving eye and lazily raised his paw, letting go and allowing Long John to take a safe seat in a tree. Lara looked at the bird, smoothing his ruffled feathers with his beak and grumbling to himself.
Cats just can’t help themselves
, thought Lara.
Sharp claws, razor teeth, selfish attitudes
… a shiver went down her spine.
I’ve fought with some of the world’s most evil villains but I wouldn’t like to pick a fight with a cat!
George, the tortoise, was heading to the meeting. Lara could hear him rustling in the
hedge but she hadn’t got all day
. I’ve a holiday to get on with
, she thought, a warm doggy feeling showing in her tail wag.
Lara barked for order. ‘Everyone here?’ she asked. ‘Put your paw up if you’re not here,’ she joked.
Archie, the chocolate Labrador, peered around, confused. He looked back at Lara and raised his paw. ‘How could you put your paw up if you’re not –’ he began, but was cut off by an exasperated-looking Lara. ‘As you know, this is the last neighbourhood-watch meeting before I disappear on my summer hols. Well,’ she corrected, ‘it’s not an
official
holiday as such, more of an extended period with Professor Cortex and the pups to get up to speed with the latest gadgets and weapons.’ Archie’s eyes widened in awe and Lara decided to exaggerate a little. ‘You never know who might be lurking in the bushes,’ she added, looking around furtively.
All ears pricked when the bushes rustled. The group jumped as George stumbled his way out of the leaves and on to the lawn. He still had some way to go, so Lara continued. ‘What I need is a deputy. And a
deputy
deputy. We’ve swept crime off the streets in this town and we
must keep it clean. If anyone so much as drops a crisp packet while I’m gone, I want them sorted. And any suspicious characters, I want them watched like a hawk. Or a parrot.’ Lara gave the still slightly ruffled Long John an acknowledging nod. ‘Got it?’
‘Yes, boss,’ chorused the assembled crowd.
‘So we’re using this meeting to select a
Lara was the world’s first ever Spy Dog.
But even Spy Dogs need holidays
, she thought, as the animal neighbourhood-watch team assembled for their Thursday meeting. Her pups, Star and Spud, had gone ahead to the secret holiday location and Lara was keen to join them as soon as possible. Shep was always first to arrive, panting and excited. He was coming along nicely and Lara knew he was desperate to be given more responsibility.
He’s a Border collie
, thought Lara,
so is a bit of a control freak.
The rest of the dogs arrived for the meeting and Shep organized them into perfectly straight lines, hoping to catch Lara’s eye with his leadership skills.
Of the cats, Connie stood out a mile. What she lacked in leadership, she made up for with
bravery, enthusiasm and a never-say-die attitude. Lara cast her mind back to an unfortunate rollerblading incident where Connie had fallen flat on her face.
But at least she was brave enough to give the Professor’s rollerblades a go
, thought the retired Spy Dog.
The cats assembled to Lara’s right and the dogs to her left. Although they were officially a neighbourhood-watch ‘team’, the feline/canine divide was always bubbling just beneath the surface. Dyson and Morley, the guinea pigs
from number 30, scampered into the garden and sat a safe distance from the cats. Tufty and Humphrey, the hamsters, kept a wary eye on the cats and, for the first time, Lara noticed that hardly any other animal felt comfortable sitting with the feline members of the team either.
Bilbo, the tabby from number 2, suddenly proved why as the urge to resist stabbing his paw at Long John, one of the parrots, proved too great. Long John’s colourful tail feather was violently pinned to the ground and there was a squawk and a flurry of feathers as the unfortunate bird desperately tried to take off. Luckily, Bilbo then caught Lara’s disapproving eye and lazily raised his paw, letting go and allowing Long John to take a safe seat in a tree. Lara looked at the bird, smoothing his ruffled feathers with his beak and grumbling to himself.
Cats just can’t help themselves
, thought Lara.
Sharp claws, razor teeth, selfish attitudes
… a shiver went down her spine.
I’ve fought with some of the world’s most evil villains but I wouldn’t like to pick a fight with a cat!
George, the tortoise, was heading to the meeting. Lara could hear him rustling in the
hedge but she hadn’t got all day
. I’ve a holiday to get on with
, she thought, a warm doggy feeling showing in her tail wag.
Lara barked for order. ‘Everyone here?’ she asked. ‘Put your paw up if you’re not here,’ she joked.
Archie, the chocolate Labrador, peered around, confused. He looked back at Lara and raised his paw. ‘How could you put your paw up if you’re not –’ he began, but was cut off by an exasperated-looking Lara. ‘As you know, this is the last neighbourhood-watch meeting before I disappear on my summer hols. Well,’ she corrected, ‘it’s not an
official
holiday as such, more of an extended period with Professor Cortex and the pups to get up to speed with the latest gadgets and weapons.’ Archie’s eyes widened in awe and Lara decided to exaggerate a little. ‘You never know who might be lurking in the bushes,’ she added, looking around furtively.
All ears pricked when the bushes rustled. The group jumped as George stumbled his way out of the leaves and on to the lawn. He still had some way to go, so Lara continued. ‘What I need is a deputy. And a
deputy
deputy. We’ve swept crime off the streets in this town and we
must keep it clean. If anyone so much as drops a crisp packet while I’m gone, I want them sorted. And any suspicious characters, I want them watched like a hawk. Or a parrot.’ Lara gave the still slightly ruffled Long John an acknowledging nod. ‘Got it?’
‘Yes, boss,’ chorused the assembled crowd.
‘So we’re using this meeting to select a
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