Arthur's Lost Dog

Summary
When Pal runs away at a street fair, even Arthur starts to doubt his dog's intelligence.

Plot
The episode starts out with Arthur pouring orange juice into a glass. Meanwhile, D.W. looks at Pal's eyes and says to him that Pal is dumb. Arthur says that any dog that does old tricks, like Pal, is very smart. D.W. doesn't think so. She then commands Pal to roll over while she has a doggie treat in her hand. However, Pal will not respond. While D.W. proves to Arthur that Pal is dumb, Pal goes after the doggie treats. In the living room, Arthur picks up his Doggie Care book and reads it. D.W. also says to him that Pal can't even get a treat. This time she commands him to sit up. Again, Pal doesn't respond. Arthur then laughs  and states to D.W. that he's not as smart as her. Pal then burps after eating the doggie treats.

---Title Card--- We now see a street fair being held in the center of Elwood City. Arthur, Buster, D.W., Pal, Mom, Dad, and Kate all attend the street fair. They walk around at many of the sales and stands, such as the pickle guessing stand and the free jokes stand in front of Jack's Joke Shop. After hearing about the free jokes, Arthur decides to take one. Unfortunately, the joke that the jokester told them really wasn't that funny. Meanwhile, at the bank, one of the employees announces that there are free giveaways inside the bank and a crowd of people rushes over to see what they are. Really they are free pencils. This angers the crowd, so they walk away.

Buster is at a pizza stand buying a slice of pizza. Meanwhile, Arthur and his father are sitting on a bench while Kate, in her stroller, is petting Pal. Then a clown walks by with free balloons. Kate wants one, but the clown walks away, making Kate cry. Dad tries to comfort Kate with a pacifier, but that doesn't work. Arthur tries to give her the bunny doll, but that fails too. Buster makes an attempt for her to eat the pizza, but that idea also fails. As Kate is having a huge tantrum, she knocks Buster's slice to the ground. D.W. gets a balloon from the clown. Pal wants to see the balloon, but Arthur holds him back. Kate finally stops crying when she sees D.W. with the balloon in her hand. Buster grabs the end of the balloon and makes balloon noises with it. However, the air lets out, causing Kate to cry again. Dad suggests Arthur should push Kate, but he can't due to the fact he has to walk Pal. Pal gets very restless trying to get away from Kate, but Arthur tells him to sit. D.W. wants to hold Pal's leash, but she's too young to do so. Mom suggests for D.W. to walk pal and Arthur to push Kate.

While they are still walking down the street, Kate continues crying. Buster can't take it anymore, so he covers his ears. Pal then runs around a pole and he gets off his leash, He runs free from all the commotion from Kate. Arthur, worried, asks what D.W. did to Pal, but she tells him that he escaped. The search is on! Meanwhile, Pal, collarless and leashless, surveys the streets. Meanwhile, Kate, who stopped crying again, is in her mother's shoulders as everyone else is walking and still looking for Pal. D.W. suggests to Arthur that he should get a new dog, like that poodle in the cage. Arthur and Buster get grossed out just looking at the dog.

In the Chinese restaurant, Arthur's parents reserve a table while Arthur and Buster search for Pal. Then Pal runs under a table and looks up at three kids holding balloons. He then spots the clown and tries to catch up with him. Arthur calls for Pal. Then an announcement over the loudspeaker says that a dog has been found, and that it's in town hall lost and found. But Pal isn't in town hall lost and found, he is still on the streets. He finally sees the clown. The clown, however, is allergic to Pal. Pal tries to get a balloon, but a police officer catches him.

At town hall, Arthur and Buster find a different dog, that looks a bit weird. Arthur then gets even more worried about Pal and wonders if he ran away because he doesn't like him anymore. Buster thinks it's time to investigate this completely. They split up and look for him. Back at the restaurant, Kate cries again. But when she sees the clown walking by, she stops, but then starts again when he leaves.

At the Carousel, Arthur asks everyone if he's seen Pal. Buster asks the same thing to Ms. Tingley, but she hasn't seen it at all. He then does a bag search, but no luck. Arthur then shows the picture to an officer. It was actually the same officer that captured him, and he's in town hall.

In town hall, Pal tries to escape. Meanwhile, Francine and Muffy see him but he runs off. Francine tries to talk to Arthur, but he's in a rush to find Pal. Then the girls decide to join the investigation too. Kate is still crying while D.W. points out Arthur. Dad tells everyone to hurry up to get Kate home because she might be sick. Arthur refuses to go home because he wants to find Pal. Dad suggests to put up lost dog signs back at home, but Arthur blames DW for letting Pal escape.

Arthur spots Pal, but he runs off to the clown. On the car ride home, Arthur, feeling hurt, while Kate continues crying, says that Pal hates him. D.W. was right, he did escape on his own. Back at the fair, the clown sits down at a table. Pal spots him, and goes right up, making him sneeze again. He barks and growls at the clown, making his balloons fly away. He then leaps on top of his head, and then bounces on the pizza shop awning, just in time to catch the balloons. Francine and Muffy notice Pal quickly and try to rescue him. Then all the balloons fly away, leaving Pal with only one balloon. Francine catches Pal just in time and the crowd applauds her. But then, he runs off again!

Back at home, Arthur tries to write a lost dog sign, but he wonders what's the point if he escaped for good. He thinks if he wants to be happy somewhere else, let him be happy. Suddenly, there is scratching on the door and it turns out that Pal made it. He immediately runs up to Kate, still crying, and gives her the balloon. When Kate sees the balloon, she no longer cries. Dad, who took his earplugs out, asks how Kate stopped crying. Really the balloon made her stop crying, but Mom really doesn't know.

Major characters

 * Arthur Read
 * Pal
 * D.W. Read
 * Baby Kate
 * Jane Read
 * David Read

Minor characters

 * Buster Baxter
 * Francine Frensky
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Bank President
 * Clown
 * Policeman
 * Ms. Tingley

Background characters

 * Binky Barnes
 * Jenna Morgan
 * Wanda Deegan
 * James MacDonald
 * Mrs. Barnes
 * Mr. Marco
 * 4th Grade Male Dog
 * Grandma Thora

Trivia

 * This seems to be a rare occurrence where Grandma Thora appears independent of the Reads. Unless she met them off-screen.

Home video
DVD:
 * Arthur: The Complete Series One

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