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Escaping Dog Trick is the second half of the third episode of Teacher's Pet from Season 1. It was directed by Timothy Björklund and written by Ford Riley.

Plot[]

Leonard is trying to get Spot to play fetch while his mom is out getting some broccoli for dinner. Soon, the two friends hear the ice cream truck and they go leave the house to get some. When Leonard and Scott get back, his mother scolds him for leaving the gate open and not looking after Spot, thinking that he has run away. Scott runs off, takes off his costume, and he becomes Spot again; Mary Lou is so excited to see him again. To make sure he doesn't leave again, Mary Lou has a cop install a high-tech security fence so Spot will not be able to go anywhere, outside of the house and backyard. Spot feels that his life is ruined and he'll never go to school again because of this, but Leonard reassures him that he has a plan. The next day, Mary Lou tells Leonard the code to unlock the fence but not to use it without her permission. Leonard, who does not want to disobey his mother's order, promises he won't use it without her guidance. Leonard tries to think of something else that could help, but Mary Lou takes him to school with her before he's able to.

At school, Leonard is haunted by Spot's desire to be free and back in school. When Leonard shakes Ian, thinking he was Spot, Mary Lou asks if Leonard is okay; he fakes a sickness in order to go home and continue helping Spot. When Leonard is sent home, he tries to unlock the detector collar with numerous methods but fails each time.

Spot decides that they should try going over the fence and has Leonard, Mr. Jolly, and Pretty Boy help. However, things go awry when Jolly coughs up a hairball and the alarms go off. The fence is then replaced with an even stronger security system, and Officer Doggytime decides to arrest Spot. Just as this is happening, Leonard's mother arrives and sees that the officer is going to arrest her dog; angered, she tells him to get rid of his "cyber-detector thingy", in her words, which he reluctantly agrees to, shutting down the security system and taking off Spot's impenetrable collar.

Leonard tells his mother that after what Spot has been through he'll never carelessly run away again. Leonard and Mary Lou decide to get popsicles, with Leonard getting another one for Spot. In the end of the episode, Spot has a good laugh at Mr. Jolly and Pretty Boy, as they smell like rancid pork.

Cast[]

Voice actor Role(s)
Nathan Lane Spot Helperman/Scott Leadready II
Shaun Fleming Leonard Helperman
Debra Jo Rupp Mary Lou Helperman
Jerry Stiller Pretty Boy
David Ogden Stiers Mr. Jolly
Rob Paulsen Ian Wazselewski
Patrick Warburton Officer Doggytime

Trivia[]

General[]

  • This is the first episode that is set primarily outside of school. The school itself was only featured for a minute, with the rest of the episode taking place at the Helperman household.
  • Leonard's middle name is revealed to be Amadeus.
  • Spot compares the fence's foul odor to month old Moo shu pork.
  • Among Spot's future plans in this episode include going to Harvard University, joining the United States Navy, becoming President pro tempore of the Senate and being elected Pope.
  • Moral: Treat others how you want to be treated and it's hard to understand what freedom means.

Cultural references[]

  • Leonard's middle name derives from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Classical composer.
  • Spot whines "The horror, the horror!" while hiding in a bush; this is lifted from the 1899 novella Heart of Darkness.

Production information[]

  • First episode not to be written by the Steinkellners.
  • Patrick Warburton, who is the voice of Officer Doggytime, also did the voice role of Buzz Lightyear from Disney/Pixar's "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command".
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