TheChase: A Shiner BockenheimerAdventure

Follow Shiner along for a game of chase that turns into a rescue mission.

The Chase: A Shiner Bockenheimer Adventure

“Ahh… Another beautiful day!” Shiner said as he walked with his best friend, Gavin, to the neighborhood park. He was ready to smell all the new things. Sometimes he could tell if a squirrel ran by, or if a cat was hiding in the bushes. He especially loved the smells of the food! Sometimes he wished he could just follow the smell all the way to the food and gobble it up!
“Hi Olivia! Hi Halo-girl” shouted Gavin. Halo and Olivia were already at the park playing.
“Hi Gaaaaavvvvviiiiinnnnn” screamed Olivia as she slid down the slide.
“What took you guys so long? It’s been FOR-EVER! Me and Halo have been playing this whole time. Shiner, did you hide Gavin’s shoes again?”
“RFFF! I did not hide his shoes! He was looking for his glasses. Hmmpphh! I can’t believe you thought it was my fault. C’mon Halo! Let’s go sniff around.” Halo, which was Shiner’s best dog pal, barked and they ran off to sniff around.
“Olivia, what should we do today?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we can play Leap Frog?”
“Nah, I don’t feel like jumping.”
“How about Hide and Seek?”
“Yes! Let’s do it!”
“I’ll count first. You run and hide.”
Gavin stood by the tree with his eyes closed, while Olivia ran off to hide. “I am going to start counting now!”
“Shiner! Halo! Let’s hide together.” Olivia and the dogs ran off and hid behind the rock-climbing wall.
“Halo, you need to stop wiggling or else we’re gonna get found out. Shiner! Stop licking my hand, you silly pup!” Olivia giggled.
“Aha! I found you.” Gavin shouted at them from around the corner of the rock wall.
“Oh man.” Olivia groaned. “ Shiner and Halo were being distracting. Let’s try another game. How about a game of freeze tag?” Olivia asked.
“No! The dogs always run into me and I lose.”
“Well, I am bored. Hey! Maybe we can convince mom and dad to take us to the trampoline park?”
“Yeah! Let’s go!” Gavin and Olivia were excited about the idea of going to the trampoline park.
“Halo! Shiner! Let’s go!” Gavin shouted. Shiner and Halo came running over.
“Hi Gavin! Where are we going?” Shiner asked.
“We’re going to go home now boy. Park time is over.”
“Rfff,” Shiner huffed quietly and said “ I don’t want to go home. I want to play! You’re going to have to catch me!” Shiner took off running and zig zagging all over the park. Gavin and Olivia started laughing. “Ok, let’s play Capture that Dog! He’s a renegade spy and we need to grab him before he can escape.”
“Yeah…That’s a good idea Gavin,” agreed Olivia. “Let’s split up and corner him over there by the gate! Are you ready Halo?” asked Olivia.
“You’re going to run straight at Shiner. Gavin, you will go left and I will go right. Ready? And go!”
The three of them took off running and Shiner looked all around trying to figure out how he was going to escape. Suddenly he saw another person at the gate and they opened it up. He started racing towards it.
“NO! STOP THAT DOG!” Gavin and Olivia shouted. But the person at the gate didn’t hear them and Shiner flew right through the metal gate and started running down the street.
Gavin, Olivia, and Halo, finally made it to the gate and looked around. “Where did that dog go?” Olivia huffed. She was trying to catch her breath. “I didn’t realize I was going to need to run like a superhero today.”
“I don’t see him anywhere. He must have turned down one of these streets. Let’s go look for him.” They clipped Halo on her leash and started hurrying down the street. “Shiner? SHINER? Where are you boy? Time to come home. SHINER! Where are you?” Gavin and Olivia were walking around but didn’t want to travel too far from the park. “Gavin, let’s go get mom and dad to help us.”





Meanwhile, Shiner was watching them from around the corner and grinning. They’ll never find me, he thought. I will make this game last so long they will forget about the trampoline park. Suddenly, Shiner caught a whiff of a grill. Ohhh it smells so good! Hot dogs! Hamburgers! Shiner’s stomach started to growl.
“I’ll just see how far that food is. I am sure it’s close by.” Sniff Sniff. Shiner’s nose was twitching, as he tracked the smell. Sniff Sniff. “I am getting closer!” Shiner kept walking and walking. Little did he know, he was already 2 neighborhoods over. “I know it’s close. Whoa!” Shiner stopped abruptly. He arrived at a massive house. It looked like four of his houses combined.
“Yummmm! I can smell so much food!” Shiner walked to the back of the house and saw a huge backyard. There was a pool, a swingset, and even a basketball court! In the middle of all that was a lush, green yard and a pavilion.”Aha!” That’s where the smell is coming from! Shiner saw 2 grills and tons of food on the tables. It was a BIG party. How will I get this food? I know! I’ll sneak around like a tiger stalking its prey. No one will see me! Shiner laid down on the ground and started a slow, belly crawl. Look at me go! I’m the sneakiest dog around.
“Ha ha ha!” someone laughed. “Look at that dog!”
“What is he doing?”
“I think he is trying to sneak around and grab some food.”
“Ha! Someone! Throw him a steak!”
Shiner looked around and realized he wasn’t being as sneaky as he thought.
“Hey guys! That food smells good! Can you share?” Shiner asked.
“I think this dog is trying to speak to us, Navi. Does anyone speak dog? Ha Ha Ha!” Shiner looked at the man talking and gave him a sneer.
“Rff! Why can’t you understand me?” Shiner barked.
“Mike, this dog is getting aggressive. Let’s call the pound!” Navi shouted.
Shiner heard the word pound and his heart started beating so fast. “No! Don’t call the pound. I am a good dog! I’ll leave your party right now.”
Shiner started walking away and then Mike shouted “STOP. THAT. DOG!”
Shiner looked back and saw a horde of people running after him. He laughed and started to run too. He loved a good game of chase! Shiner dodged in and out of the tables and the food, knocking over drinks and plates along the way. The music stopped playing as everyone started trying to catch him. The kids at the party thought it was a fun game and started screaming and running too. Shiner knocked over a big table filled with drinks and glasses and the kids screamed and shouted when it hit the ground, but no one was hurt. The parents started yelling and gathering their children and Shiner escaped out of the chaotic backyard.
Wow! This was a waste of time. I didn’t even get to eat any of the delicious food and now I don't know where I am. Shiner started walking around to see if he noticed anything that’s familiar to him. None of this seems right. How far did I go?”
Shiner started whining and sniffing in the air, trying to get a sense of where he was and to see if he could smell his best friends somewhere. As he was walking along the sidewalk, he heard a weird noise. It sounded like crying. Shiner started walking slowly towards the noise and saw a little boy sitting on the grass. The little boy looked a lot smaller than Gavin, and a little smaller than Olivia, so Shiner guessed he was a Kindergartener. The little boy looked up at him with a teary-eyed face and said, “Hi Doggie. Are you a nice doggie?”
Shiner tip-toed over to the boy very slowly, and low to the ground, so the boy wouldn’t be scared. Shiner laid down next to him and the little boy started hugging him.
“You’re a nice doggie,” the little boy sniffled. “Oh look! You have a collar. I see your name. Your name is Shiner? That’s a nice name. My name is David. I was playing tag with my cousins and they ran off and now I don't know where I am and how to get home.”
Shiner looked at the boy and licked his hand to reassure him. “It’s ok David. I will help you,” Shiner said.
David’s eyes got large and he started walking back and forth and then stopped suddenly. “It’s really nice of you to offer to help me, Shiner, but you don’t know where I live.” David sounded so sad.
Shiner huffed and sat down on his hind legs to think. There must be a way for me to help this little boy. Shiner lay down next to the boy and let David pet him for a few minutes. As Shiner was laying there, he sniffed his shirt and it smelled very familiar.
“Your shirt smells like a grill. I just left a big party with a grill. No one could understand me and they chased me away. I just wanted to eat some hamburgers.” Shiner told David about the party and how he knocked everything down. “They even threatened to take me to the pound. I am a really nice dog and I have a family that is probably looking for me now too.” Shiner started to look sad too.
“Shiner! I think that’s my house! We were having a big party today to celebrate my parent’s anniversary. What did the house look like? What did you see there? Did you see my mom and dad?” David was firing off questions so fast that it made Shiner’s head spin.
“Whoa…slow down David. Rff! Rff! Let me think. I saw a big house with a backyard filled with people and delicious food. Yum.” Shiner started to drool a bit and started thinking about how hungry he was.
“What else did you see?” David asked.
“I also saw a big basketball court, a pool and a swing set. Does this sound like your house?”
“Yes it is! Can you take me back there? My mom and dad are probably so worried.”
“Ok let’s go! But you have to tell them to not be scared of me and to not call the pound.”
“Don’t worry Shiner, it will be ok. Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Shiner was a little worried about going back to the house. He didn’t want to see those people again but he didn’t want to let David down. “Ok. let’s go David. Hold onto me and we will go together.” Shiner started sniffing the wind.
“It’s this way. Follow me!” Shiner and David started running. Shiner knew he could get the kid back safe, but he was still worried about the people at the party. He knew that Gavin, Olivia and even Halo were probably very worried about him. As soon as I drop this boy off, I will try to head back home. Maybe David and his family can help. Shiner was hopeful, but also skeptical. Grownups were so unpredictable. The pound is no place for a dog detective!
Shiner and David were getting closer to the house. The music was louder and the smell of the food was stronger. They also heard voices shouting for David.
“Hey! They are calling my name! C’Mon Shiner! Let’s go. Hurry Hurry!”
Shiner and David ran towards the voices.
“Oh! There he is! Navi! David is back. And he’s with that dog!” Mike shouted.
“What dog? We don’t have a dog!” Gloria said. “You mean that dog from before? Should I call the pound.”
SHiner stopped in his tracks. Oh no! They are going to call the pound.
“David! Please don’t let them call the pound. My best friends are looking for me right now. RFF!”
“He’s barking again. Everyone, we will approach him slowly. We don’t want him to bite us or David.”
“Mom! Shiner isn’t going to bite anyone. He helped me find my way home. He’s a really good dog. Look! His collar has a phone number for his family. We need to call them. He’s the greatest dog in the world. I am so happy to be home.”
David had tears on his face as he ran to his mom and dad. They hugged him tightly. “We will call his family. I am sure they are just as worried about him.”
Navi walked to Shiner and got down at eye level and gave him a big hug. “Thank you for bringing my baby back home. I know you are scared too. Your family is lucky to have you. Mike! Let’s get this dog a big steak and a hamburger. I bet you’re hungry aren't ya boy?”
Shiner’s tail was wagging so hard his whole body shook back and forth.
Finally! I can get some food. Shiner gobbled the steak and burgers in 5 minutes. David laughed and said, “Ok Shiner, my mom and dad called your family. They are on the way to come and get you.”
“RFF!” Shiner’s feet jumped in the air and he started running everywhere.
“Mom! He has the zoomies! Look at him go.” David was laughing and so was everyone at the party.
“It’s like he can understand you David.” Shiner and David looked at each other and laughed. The grownups had no idea!

Shiner’s family finally arrived about 15 minutes later.
“Shiner! We’ve missed you so much. I can’t believe you ran away like that.” Gavin was hugging Shiner and Olivia was crying.
“Shiner! How could you leave us? We love you. You’re the best dog in the world.”
Shiner licked their hands and said “I am so sorry. I just smelled some hamburgers and you know how I feel about them.”
Gavin and Olivia saw a little boy smiling shyly at them. “Hi, I’m David. Shiner helped me find my way home. He’s a really good dog.”
“Hi David, I’m Gavin and this is my sister Olivia. I am glad he helped you. He is a very smart dog! He’s helped us solve some mysteries before. We should have known he was up to something when he didn’t come back right away.”
“David? Do you go to our school?” Olivia asked. “I think I've seen you in the hallway before. We go to McKinzey Brown Elementary School.”
“I do! Mom! Dad! Come over here! These kids go to my school too.”
All the parents came over and asked Gavin and Olivia if they wanted to stay for the party.
Gavin looked at Shiner. “Would you like to stay boy?”
Shiner looked at all of the kids and the grownups and said “Only if I can have more hamburgers!” The kids fell over laughing and the adults shook their heads. “It’s like they can understand him when he’s barking.”
Shiner and the kids laughed even harder. “Ok Shiner! Let’s play another game of chase. But this time, no running away!”
Ready….SET….GO!